The Marauders' Final Year at School
by x white x rabbit x
Summary: It all started with a ride on the Hogwarts Express in Lily Evans's seventh year. Follow the four Marauders and some of their new friends through their final year at Hogwarts...it sounds way better when you read it, this is a stupid summary.
1. The Train Ride of Surprises

Chapter One

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My name is Lily Evans, and I was Muggle-born, I know that sounds bad, but still, I am one of the brightest in my year. I am in my seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I am so excited to be going back after the summer. If only it wasn't for that insane James Potter and his delinquent friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Remus was okay, I studied with him on occasions in the Gryffindor common room, he was smart, one of my avid study partners; he was like a brother to me. Sirius Black on the other hand, he was a troublemaker, always getting Remus, James, and Peter into all kinds of mischief. He was one of the most popular boys in the school though and almost every girl swooned when he walked by, I was one of the few who didn't fall for that charming smile. Peter, well, he never really spoke up much, he was a pretty quiet kid, kind of chubby, only talks and thinks of food, but he was nice to me at least. James, on the other hand, he was so aggravating. He asks me out every chance he bloody gets and I always say no, and yet his determination never seems to falter. I don't know why I constantly say no, but I do, and, for some reason, it's fun to do. Not that I'm manipulative or anything, it's just that James is so carefree does anything he wants and I'm well, I obey rules to put it bluntly. Summer was over and I would be heading back to Hogwarts in a few hours. I had everything I needed and my parents drove me to King's Cross Station and I boarded the train at platform 9 ¾ and found my seat in one of the back compartments.

My friends were usually late, so I waited for them in the usual spot. I pulled out a novel and began to read it quietly when I heard the laughter of four unmistakable voices. I dreaded them walking past my compartment. Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius all stopped as they looked into the compartment, well, Peter didn't, he was too busy shoving chocolate frogs into his mouth and ran into James who was in front of him.

"Well, it looks like Evans is all alone today. How about we keep her company," said Sirius, looking at James mischievously. I just about died and also resisted the temptation to smack Sirius in the face.

"How about we leave her alone, she looks like she's okay with reading the book she has," saved Remus. I threw him a grateful smile and he winked at me.

"Moony, I think we should get our seats before the trolley lady comes with the snacks," piped Peter. They always used strange nicknames for each other and I never understood quite why that was.

"Go ahead, Wormtail, and find us some seats, we'll be there in a minute. I think Prongs wants to ask Evans something," muttered Sirius with another mischievous smile. One thing that really bothered be about Sirius was that he ALWAYS wanted to see the look on my face when I turned James down, and he always instigated the cruelty I had towards James. Normally I would just say no, but Sirius made it so that I had to say it over and over again. _Please let him just go, _I thought to myself.

"So, Lily," began James. I heard Sirius laugh from the corner. "I was wondering if maybe, you wanted to go to the first Hogsmeade visit with me, on like, you know, a date."

"James, I have literally told you a thousand times, no," I responded calmly.

"Wait, Evans, I didn't catch that, what did you say?" asked Sirius with a grin.

"I said no, and Sirius Black, if you don't stop this nonsense now, I will…I will," I stopped, I couldn't think of a proper punishment for him.

"You'll what, Evans?" he asked sarcastically. I whipped out my wand, having what I was going to do in mind before I even said it.

"Tarantallegra!" I shouted. Immediately, Sirius began dancing like an idiot in the middle of the compartment. "You gonna stop?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes, just make it stop, please, Evans," Sirius pleaded. Remus gave me a disapproving look and I muttered the counter spell and Sirius fell to the ground, clutching his legs.

"I'll show you, Lily!" challenged James, producing his own wand. "Rictusempra!" Immediately I felt a tickling sensation all over my body and began squirming in my seat. I fell over on the floor, clutching my side and trying to mutter the counter charm to stop it, but I couldn't get a word out because I was laughing so hard.

"Prongs," began Remus. James said the counter charm and I felt the tickling feeling go away.

"James Potter, that was not fair. I gave you what your friend what he deserved and you tickled me with that stupid charm?" I asked angrily.

"Calm down, Lily, I was just joking around."

"You always are," I said coldly, standing up and sitting back in my seat.

"Lily, I - " began James apologetically.

"Save it, go find Peter and just leave me alone," I said, picking up my book and sitting back down. I turned away from the three of them.

"Evans, what's your problem?" asked Sirius.

"You two are, you and James, I mean."

"What about Moony?"

"He's fine, he doesn't try to make my life miserable."

"Oh, Evans, you and I both know you like to turn down Prongs, you and I both think it's funny. You look forward to when he asks you out."

"Shut up, Sirius Black, no I do not." I knew I could've gotten away with it, but my face betrayed me, my blood pooled on my cheeks, turning them a bright red to match my hair.

"Ha, look at me, Evans," commanded Sirius, seeing the tips of my ears turn red. "You can't hide it."

"Go away," I said angrily. "I noticed that the train had begun to move and my friends were nowhere in sight. "Where are my friends?"

"We told them we'd be the ones keeping you company today, didn't we,Moony?" asked Sirius.

"Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with it," said Remus.

"They're sitting with their boyfriends in the very back so that they can snog each other the whole ride," said Sirius bluntly.

"Oh, very tactful, Padfoot," said Remus. "Anyways, he's right, that's where they are."

"So, Evans. I figured out why you always turn down Prongs," said Sirius, coming to sit next to me and wrapping it around my shoulders. James looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "It's because you love me, just admit it, Evans."

"Get real," I snorted, pushing him onto the floor of the compartment. James's smile returned to his face again. Remus, as usual, saved me by telling me to scoot over to the wall and sitting next to me on the other side so that neither of those two could get near me again. James knew Remus was like my brother and knew he would never, ever try anything. James came to sit in front of me and Sirius sat next to him. "What about Peter?" I asked, looking around.

"He most likely finished his chocolate frogs and cupcakes and fell asleep about ten minutes ago," said Sirius with a chuckle. I tried to act serious, but I let out a short giggle.

"Lily Evans laughs at an insult, send an owl to the Daily Prophet," exclaimed Sirius.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Come on Evans, you and I both know that you could never do anything bad, you're goody-goody Lily Evans after all," said Sirius.

"Is that really what people think of me?" I asked.

"No," Remus said. "Padfoot, please, not a good time."

"Moony, please, don't lie to her at a time like this," said Sirius. I turned to face Remus. He looked back innocently.

"What? You lied to me?" I asked Remus. "I guess, if that's truly what people think then I'll have to change my reputation."

"Oh come on, Evans," said Sirius. "They talk about who you are not what you wanna be. You could never be a bad girl." I looked to James who was staring right into my eyes the entire time.

"James," I said, snapping him out of his trancelike state.

"Huh?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Can I have a piece of gum?" I had noticed earlier he was chewing some enchanted gum, never lost its flavor, ever.

"I only have the piece in my mouth," he said sadly.

"Yeah, so," I said impatiently. All three snapped their heads to look at me, completely astonishment in their eyes. I wouldn't even drink after people normally, and that was obviously what they were thinking. James took the piece of gum out of his mouth and everyone watched as I picked it up and put it in mine, their hands following mine until the piece of gum was safely in my mouth. "Yum, watermelon," I said, smacking the gum in my mouth and blowing a large bubble. I popped it with my finger and sucked the gum back into my mouth.

"Padfoot, what have you done?" asked Remus.

"I like it," said Sirius with a laugh, "Prongs?" James was still staring at me, awestruck that I would take him gum from his mouth and chew it. "PRONGS!" yelled Sirius.

"Huh? Oh yeah, great," said James, not really paying attention.

"You don't seem so excited, this new Lily might just say yes to you, right Evans?" asked Sirius.

"You never know," I said with an impish grin.

"I like it a lot," said Sirius with a chuckle. "Hurry up, Prongs, if you don't get her to say yes to you, it could be come a contest for us."

"Trust me, it will never be a contest, I said, leaning forward towards Sirius. He leaned forwards too and I grabbed his black hair and yanked it towards the floor making his squeal in pain, more like someone killing an elephant. "Because, Sirius Black, I could never like you that way, I don't believe I could ever be your friend even." I laughed, it was my plan to do that.

"Okay, she's feisty," said Sirius, lifting his head. "And that hurt. Apologize, Evans."

"Why should I? You're the one who made a move on me."

"Ha, you leaned first," said Sirius.

"Fine, I am terribly sorry, Sirius Black, for compromising you honor." Everyone knew that Sirius Black would never turn a girl down, he would go out with her, snog her, and dump her the next day if he didn't like her. If he did like her, though, it would last about a week and the only thing they would do would be to snog in broom cupboards all day, even skipping class.

"Wait…what?" asked Sirius absently.

"She's being sarcastic, Padfoot," said Remus. I noticed James still staring at me and waved my hand in front of his face. He snapped back to reality.

"For a start, Potter, don't stare at me, it's flattering the first few times, not the first thousand," I joked.

"Sorry, Lily," he said, going red.

"How about you guys explain to me what these nicknames mean, you've been calling each other by them since like last year." All three of them exchanged glances of nervousness. Then turned to look at me.

"Just some stuff we made up when we were in school last year," said Remus, answering for the three of them. I knew they were hiding something from me, but I would never get answers out of them if I pestered them about it.

"So, Lily, I'm sure you already heard, but Prongs is Head Boy," said Sirius with a laugh. "Traitor." I turned to look at James, pure astonishment in my face. He could never have…did he change last year, something was blatantly different about the way he acted. No more wisecracks and insults or jokes or hexing little kids last year. Had James Potter really grown up? "We also heard that you, Evans, are Head Girl." Sirius nudged the now-blushing James. I had never seen him blush before, he was usually the proud guy that announced everything to the world. I nodded, still looking at James, who had his eyes on me again, but he wasn't staring, more like evaluating my expression.

"Are you that surprised?" asked James with a laugh.

"Yes, actually," I said with a grin.

"Well, I knew you would be Head Girl, that was obvious, so I needed a way to be with you and I had it, I had to act like a goody-goody all last year. It sucked." I laughed at his words. He really was funny, but why hadn't I noticed that before. He ran his fingers through his permanently messy, black hair. He wasn't too hard on the eyes either, but still, it was James Potter, JAMES POTTER. Why was I beginning to like him all of the sudden?

"Evans, you're blushing," said Sirius. "Not something you usually do around Prongsie over here unless you're embarrassed he just asked you out or something."

"Padfoot, how many times must I tell you, my name is not Prongsie, it's Prongs, just Prongs, unless you want to call me James again."

"Sorry," said Sirius sarcastically.

"And knock it off, we don't need to have her traumatized by the time we get to the school."

"What?" asked Sirius, Remus, and I together.

"Seriously, Prongs, you love tormenting Lily," said Sirius.

"Only if it's to get her attention, and right now, I don't need it, I need to go check up on Peter and make sure he hasn't had an anxiety attack when we never showed up."

"I got it, James, Sirius and I will take care of it," said Remus.

"What?" asked Sirius in disbelief. I saw Remus nudge him in the ribs. "Oh, yeah, right." They both got up and slid the compartment door open and left, shutting it behind them. I sat across from James, neither of us speaking. I was getting a little tired, though. He got up and came to sit next to me. I looked at him and took out my book, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hey, Lily," he began.

"Hmm?" I asked, not looking up from my book. I knew what he was going to ask.

"I was wondering if well, maybe you were tired." I looked up at him; my jaw fell open. He had asked me a question that wasn't asking me out. I nodded after being able to close my mouth.

"A little bit," I admitted.

"Well, go to sleep then, don't worry, I won't try something, and you should know that by now." I nodded. I believed him, he was respectable, he wasn't a womanizer like his friend. So, I closed my book and fell asleep sitting up. I dreamed, but surprisingly, James was starring in them, every dream.

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A/N: Review and I'll continue it, I know the next chapter will be waaay better, especially the beginning and the very end. 


	2. Secrets Part 1

A/N: Okay, from now on we go back to third person narration because from here on out I want to get every character's feelings and opinions across. I will, on occasion, switch to Lily's POV, but I'll warn you beforehand.

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When Lily woke up, she was warm, there was some sort of blanket on her and she was leaning against something soft and also warm. She dared to open her eyes. James's beige leather jacket was draped over her and she was leaning against his sleeping form, head on his shoulder. Somehow, she was okay with that, she felt safe and comfortable for some strange reason. She turned her head slightly and saw Remus and Sirius sitting across from her, both having very different smiles on their faces. Remus's smile was a triumphant grin, something of a finally, or what I always knew would happen has finally happened. Sirius's smile was somewhat mischievous, but his smiles always were. It also looked like he was biting back laughter. When Lily moved a bit in her seat, she felt something else, James's arm around her waist. She was still perfectly content even knowing that. She tried to get a little bit more comfortable and James woke up, immediately whipping his arm from her waist. He looked down at her sleepily.

"Uh, sorry, Lils, I didn't mean to…" she placed a finger over his lips.

"It's fine. Actually, I'm glad you did," she answered. Sirius and Remus leaned back in their seats, looks of pure astonishment on their faces. Lily sat up and so did James, trying not to act awkward.

"So, um…Lily," James began. Lily knew what was coming and no longer dreaded the question. "About the first Hogsmeade visit tomorrow, do you want to go with me on a, you know, a date?"

"I'd love to," she said with a grin. If Remus and Sirius looked astonished before, now they looked staggered, almost falling out of their seats. "How long were we asleep?" Lily asked, looking to Remus.

"About two hours, actually. I almost had to tie Padfoot up, he was so tempted to do something evil while you were asleep, maybe draw on your faces or something. You looked so peaceful, we didn't want to wake you," answered Remus. "The train should be arriving at the school at any second now."

"Oh no, we have to change," realized Lily, looking to James. Sirius and Remus had already put their robes on, and were ready, but James and Lily were still in their casual clothes. Lily went to stand up on the seat and pull her trunk from the luggage rack, it almost slipped, but James caught it, having stood up to help. The two lowered it gently to the ground and Lily opened it, digging through it frantically until she had her robes. Sirius's eyes lingered on the bras she had packed as they had become unearthed in her digging.

"Padfoot, please, show some respect," said Remus, looking up at the ceiling. Lily closed the trunk after having pulled out all of her robes. She looked at the boys expectantly and they looked back confusedly.

"Well," she urged. "I obviously can't get changed with you in here."

"Oh," said Remus, standing up and opening the door. The other two followed him and Lily shut the curtains to the compartment door and changed quickly, almost in a daze. She was confused, very confused, and didn't quite understand why she had just said yes to James, and yet she was glad that she did. When she slid the doors back open again the three boys were standing outside talking, but Sirius, who had been leaning against the door, fell through at Lily's feet, head hitting the floor. Lily let out a hushed giggle.

"So, Evans, you do think I'm funny," said Sirius, sitting back in the seat cattycorner from Lily who had already taken the seat she had been in the entire ride. James came in and, to everyone's surprise, sat next to Sirius, across from Lily, and Remus sat next to her again. Only a few seconds after they had gotten situated, the train came to a screeching halt, throwing Lily across the space and into James. He steadied her as she blushed. Then he stood up, his arm around her waist as she regained her balance. After it was okay to get off the train, they all levitated their trunks from the train. Of course, James had a different approach. As Lily was walking ahead, he hit the backs of her knees with the trunk, making Lily fall into a sitting position on the trunk.

"Need a lift?" he asked with a smile. Lily just let out a quiet musical laughter. And stayed sitting on the trunk as it glided off the train. After they got off the train, they left the trunks for the caretaker and the house elves to get up to the dormitories. When they entered the Great Hall, it was packed full of students younger than them. They sat down at the Gryffindor table in the front and waited for the sorting of the first years who were entering the room timidly. They clapped accordingly when their house names were called by the hat and then Dumbledore gave his start of term speech, going over rules and new teachers and then the feast began after many silent complaints from Sirius who was very hungry by now.

James and Lily left the feast early for patrol and waited for the rest of the students to get to the common room. Patrol on Fridays didn't end until about midnight. They walked in silence; sometimes James would grab Lily's hand as they walked. When patrol finally ended and everyone was in their common rooms, they went back to the Gryffindor one, pausing before going in.

"Lily," began James in a quivery voice.

"Yeah?" she asked warily.

"You didn't say yes to me just because of what Sirius said about the reputation you carry, did you?" he asked. She could tell he had been mulling over this for a while now, debating on how he would ask.

"It was a very, very, very, minuscule part. I really do like you, James. You've changed, a lot, you've finally decided to grow up and I'm glad."

"Well, I can't have grown up, Padfoot would never let me," said James with a laugh, picking up Lily and throwing her over his shoulder. She began pounding on his back and almost screaming, her red hair flying everywhere. James was laughing the entire time, about to say the passwords for the portrait.

"James! Put me down, put me down! If we walk in there like this, everyone will be able to see up my skirt and I will be that Sirius is in there and he'll be staring, you don't want that do you?" He put her down gently, saying the password and entering the common room. The only people in there were three seventh years, Remus, Sirius, and a sleeping Peter. Sirius, who looked over when they entered, saw Lily's rumpled hair and immediately jumped to conclusions.

"Lily Evans was snogged," he gasped. "Prongsie, your dream has finally come true, you snogged Evens. So, Evans, how was it?" Lily shook her head in disbelief and went o sit on the couch and resisting the urge to slap Sirius upside the head.

"Padfoot, shut up. Lily's not like that, he hair's like that 'cuz she tripped in the corridor, that's all." That was a good save on James's part. He went and sat next to Lily, putting his arm around her shoulders and hugging her close so that she was leaning against him. "Plus, I'm sure Lily's snogged before so it's no big deal." Lily looked away from James, going slightly red in the face. He grabbed her cheeks and turned her face to his. "What, you've never kissed anyone before?" he asked, sounding perfectly astonished.

"No," said Lily shyly. Remus had clapped a hand over Sirius's mouth to stop him from busting with laughter.

"Hey, that's okay, we'll take it slow, I promise," he said softly, almost a whisper. He kissed the top of her head and she turned to look at him again.

"You don't have to," she said softly, seizing the opportunity to kiss him on the lips. What Lily didn't expect was the length of the kiss. He placed his hands on her face and leaned back, Lily was now practically on top of him. He moved his hands to her waist to support her. All of her friends who had ever dated James always said he was one of the best kissers at Hogwarts, in any year. He began kissing her neck and she tried to frame words with her heart thudding in her chest like crazy, her pulse racing and her stomach filled to the brim with butterflies.

"James," she said, trying to be coherent.

"Hmm?" he asked, not looking up at her.

"You're a really good kisser," she said, the butterflies flapping in her stomach and making her feel nervous. She was nervous, nervous that she wasn't a very good kisser, but her fears were short-lived.

"So are you," he said. He kissed her once more on the mouth, his fingers tracing her backbone before she scooted away from him and sat back down on the couch. James leaned forward too, propping himself up on his elbows. Sirius couldn't hold in his laughter any longer and was busting up in the corner, Remus was trying to quiet him, but to no avail.

"Um," began Lily. "I'm gonna be right back. I have to put on my pajamas." She fumbled up the stairs and put on a pair of sweat pants and a form-fitting t-shirt.

_Meanwhile_

"When's the next full moon," asked James, coming to sit at the table where his friends were.

"Saturday night, tomorrow," answered Remus, looking out the window to see the moon almost full.

"But that's my…no, it's fine, I can cut it short, but we'll have to tell her or she'll think I don't want to be with her," said James thoughtfully.

"I agree," said Remus. In fact, I'm very surprised she hasn't figured it out already, her being as smart as she is. I think we should tell her. I feel bad keeping a secret like this from her, after all, she is like a sister to me."

"I guess we should," said Sirius. "How do you know we can trust her though?"

""I just know, Padfoot, don't worry about it, now go and get the map, and hurry up, she'll be back at any minute," said James. Sirius escaped form the room, going up to the boy's dormitories and running into their room where everything had already been set up. He grabbed the map and came downstairs. He sat back where he was before and they waited for Lily to come down.

"Hey, Lils, can we show you something?" asked James as she came down the stairs.

"Yeah, sure," she answered. "Hold on, does this have something to do with your nicknames?" She strode over to the couch and sat down, James going to sit next to her and Sirius coming to sit across from the coffee table in front of them. Remus stood up and began walking around the room with the map in his hands. "Does this have something to do with the fact that Remus is a werewolf?" Their heads snapped up to look at her. For about the fourth time in one day she had surprised them.

"How did you know about that?" asked Remus, his tone sounding proud and yet astonished.

"It was blatantly obvious. I figured it out back in my fifth year and I didn't want you to treat me any differently, so I didn't say anything," she admitted sheepishly. "I mean they call Moony and you are in the hospital wing once a month and always just after the full moon. Plus, Madam Pompfrey's pathetic excuses constantly being repeated also gave away that you weren't really sick or she didn't really need help with something in her office. Plus I've seen you crossing the grounds with her form the window before, not to mention those three as well, all leaving the tower late at night."

"You are very observant, Evans," said Sirius.

"Did Sirius Black just compliment me in some way?"

"Of course not," he lied quickly.

"Sure, sure," said Lily sarcastically. "So, how do the nicknames fit in with Remus being a werewolf?"

"Well," began Remus. "First of all, there's this map," he said, handing the piece of seemingly blank parchment to James. James pulled out his wand and touched it to the map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said. Immediately, ink began to appear on the paper at the tip of James's wand and spanning out form the tip all the way to the corners of the paper. It was a complete map of Hogwarts, but what Lily was surprised at were the dots on the page. There was one for each teacher and one for each of the boys and one for each of them. Remus walked towards the fireplace and on the map, his dot moved forward a fraction of an inch.

"Amazing," she breathed. She looked at the heading on the top of the paper. "Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would like to present to you the Marauder's map," she read. "You made this?" She followed Dumbledore's dot with her fingertip as he paced in his study. McGonagall was asleep at her desk and the other teachers were in their offices and chambers either working or sleeping. The Lily noticed a completely new set of corridors, one form the willow, one from a hallway and a few others, all leading off the map and close to the forest.

"Yeah, we made it back in fifth year," answered Sirius.

"How?" she asked, still slightly breathless.

"Why don't you ask them," said James pointing to a phrase that appeared on the paper.

_Mr. Moony would like to bid the lady a good day and say that creating this map was no walk in the park. He would like to volunteer the fact that he did all the research on the spells that had to be cast on the silly piece of paper that the lady holds within her hands._

Lily looked up, completely surprised.

"It has a bit of our minds in there. It's what we would say if we were asked. The map knows you because you already have a dot that we placed when we first made it. It knows you by name and it knew a long time ago when we first created it," said James casually. He pointed to a phrase that appeared just below Moony's.

_Mr. Prongs would like to say first and foremost that the most beautiful woman in the world is holding the map at the moment, and he would also like to tell her that he was the one who cast the spells for the dots along with some help from another friend_

Lily blushed and watched as more words appeared on the page.

_Mr. Padfoot would like to agree with his comrades on the comments on how beautiful the lady is and would like to say that he helped and assisted Mr. Prongs with the spells and charms, etc. that had been cast on this map. He would also like to invite the lady to a secluded broom cupboard somewhere._

Lily snorted and looked to Sirius, who was laughing at what the map had said.

"What?" he asked innocently, flashing his charming smile. "It is what I would say, and don't you find me in the slightest bit cute?" Lily had to lie there, he was considered the best-looking boy in the school with his thick locks of dark brown and black hair that hung framing his face perfectly and his I-don't-care attitude, not to mention the smile.

"No," she lied quickly, kissing James on the cheek. When she looked down the map had written something else.

_Mr. Wormtail would like to say that he was the one who drew everything and would like to congratulate Miss Lily on her recent union with Mr. Prongs over there. Congratulations to you, too, Prongs._

_Mr. Prongs would like to thank Mr. Wormtail._

_Mr. Moony would like to say that he is very tempted to cheerfully beat Mr. Padfoot to death for making such a rude and obnoxious comment to the young lady that he thinks of as a sister._

_Mr. Padfoot resents that._

_Mr. Prongs would like to tell both Messrs Moony and Padfoot to shut up or he'll beat them, both. _

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A/N: reviews please people, or the story will be discontinued. 


	3. Secrets Part 2

A/N: I would like to thank Roki for reviewing me, and encourage others to review, thanks

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Lily looked up form the map that had just been speaking to her and looked into the eyes of James who had a strangely triumphant grin on his face. Lily, although she knew how smart Remus was, she had no idea that Sirius and James were good with charms and spells such as these, and it shocked her to realize it. 

"Well, what do you think?" he asked, moving a strand of hair from her eyes.

"I am most definitely impressed," she sighed with a grin. Her heart began to pound when he touched her face. "So, now will you explain the nicknames?"

"Of course," said Sirius, standing up. "You didn't expect us to know that Moony was a werewolf and not do anything to keep him form killing himself, did you? See, he always came back covered in scratches and bite marks and it was making us really depressed seeing him like that."

"Well, it's not like you could keep him company, he is a werewolf, the scent of human flesh would drive him mad, well, madder, no offense, Remus," said Lily with an apologetic look to Remus who simply shrugged. "Not unless you somehow became animals." Sirius, James, and the now-awake Peter all exchanged unreadable glances. Lily noticed that quickly.

"No, it's not possible. Most of the world's greatest sorcerers cannot be animagi. It is absolutely impossible; we're only in seventh year at _school_. It is impossible," she said, looking from one face to the next, all having honest expressions.

"Actually," began James. "We started learning in third year and had it mastered by fifth, same year you found out about Moony, apparently. So, in order to keep Moony from killing himself, we became animagi so that we could keep him company when he went to the Shrieking Shack every month." Lily began to believe this, there was no way for them to make something like this up.

"Will you show me?" she asked, a faint grin spreading across her face.

"I really don't think we have much choice otherwise," admitted James. "So, it took us almost three years to fully grasp the concept, but we did it. Peter took the longest, and he is really good for getting the willow to stop moving by pressing that stupid knot that no one else can get too." Lily looked over to where Peter had been sitting, but in his place was a slightly plump rat. It scampered over to her and she picked it up, scratched its ears and then set it back down on the ground where it changed back into Peter. Wormtail, she understood, a rat's tail is similar to what a worm looks like.

"Of course," began Sirius, pointing to James and himself. "Us two needed to be big enough animals to keep a werewolf in check." All of the sudden Sirius became a huge, shaggy, black dog that had to have been taller than her if it stood up on its hind feet. Padfoot because of how dogs have padded feet. It rolled over on its back and Lily rubbed his tummy before backing away and Sirius coming back to being human. Lily looked to James now.

"Well, please," she said with wide eyes. James shook his head almost laughing and then he was replaced by a huge stag whose antlers almost touched the ceiling of the common room.

A/N: Switch to Lily's POV

He was amazing, perfect, even. I walked up to him and petted his nose gently, rubbed the soft fur on his neck, and then flung my arms around his neck, breathing in the scent that smelled exactly like a mixture of James and the outdoors.

A/N: Back to third person! Don't get confused, because I am as I'm writing this!

All of the sudden, the fur vanished and she felt his soft arms around her waist, her head was buried in his shoulder and her arms around his shoulders. She felt his lips on the top of her head. Prongs, antlers, same thing!

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Beautiful," she breathed. She was breathless from what she had just seen. To her, it was amazing, a dream come true. James not only was amazingly sensitive, but he was a great wizard for any age.

"Hey, that's my line," said James with a small chuckle. Lily lifted her head to look at his brown eyes so filled with emotion that she had never noticed before. "You really are beautiful." Lily heard a short laugh from Sirius cut off by Remus's hand closing his mouth. Lily let go of James and backed away carefully.

"When's the next full moon?" she asked cautiously.

"Tomorrow night," said James, turning around and not facing her, obviously debating with himself.

"Oh, well by all means, go, we can cancel. Go with Remus, he needs you more than I do, go, I highly doubt Sirius will be able to do this on his own." Sirius crossed his arms across his chest, pretending to be hurt by Lily's words.

"No, I won't cancel, but it'll have to be cut a little short, we'll have to leave Hogsmeade early," said James, turning back around to face her.

"Okay," said Lily sheepishly. She picked up the map again and examined it. "What are these?" She pointed to the passageways leading off of the map.

"Short cuts," shrugged Sirius. Lily gave him a questioning look. "The one from under the willow leads to the Shrieking Shack, and it's how Moony gets there every full moon in time. It's called the Shrieking Shack because of the first five years when Moony was alone and was killing himself, howling and running into walls, trying to escape. The one at the statue is to Honeydukes, in the cellar. The others we never use, no use in explaining them." Sirius's eyes moved to the clock. "It's late, we should all go to bed especially since the four of us boys have a long night tomorrow night." Everyone agreed and Lily kissed James goodnight before heading up to the dorm. The boys stayed down for a few minutes.

"So, Prongs," began Sirius. "Do you think we can trust Evans?"

"Of course, Padfoot. She kept Remus's secret for a few years, I am sure she can keep ours for a year. Don't worry about it," objected James.

"He's right, Padfoot," agreed Remus. They looked to Peter for an answer, but nothing came because he had already fallen back to sleep.

"I guess you're right," shrugged Sirius, standing up and moving towards the staircase to the boys' dormitory. He used his wand to levitate Peter up the stairwell, dropping his sleeping form on his four-poster bed. He then headed for his own, a million thoughts swimming in his mind. The other two had followed him and were also lying in their four-poster beds, curtains drawn. All of the boys, who weren't already sleeping, had zillions of thoughts crowding their brains.

Moony was thinking about tomorrow night and what it had in store. He hated these transformations, there was no way to get used to them, it was an impossibility for him to ever be used to it. He was also thinking about Lily, about how trustworthy she had proven herself to be, not to mention how smart she was in figuring it out.

Prongs was thinking of tomorrow too, but for a different reason. Lily Evans had finally said yes to him, and he was euphoric over it, he couldn't help but not sleep because he was so excited. He also thought about her knowing their secret. He thought he would be relieved, not having to worry about keeping anything from her, but it was more, he was happy she knew, and he liked it. He couldn't wait until tomorrow and what he had in store for her. They were going to have so much fun.

Padfoot was pondering over a girl he saw over at the Slytherin table during the feast. Something was oddly familiar about her. She was sitting next to his devious cousin Bellatrix, or Bella, and she was also holding hands with that Malfoy kid, a seriously bad kid with a seriously bad reputation. The girl was pretty, she had long, silvery blonde hair and was extremely thin, but she had a look about her, like someone was holding a dead animal beneath her nose. She was so familiar though.

_Meanwhile_

Lily was also having trouble sleeping, be it because of the date tomorrow or because of all she had learned today, she really didn't know, but what she did know was that she was excited. She would be the only person to know about these three unregistered animagi running around Hogwarts. It now seemed to obvious why they always stopped talking when she entered a room. She was looking forward to her date with James more than she should have because she had just realized how much she liked him, maybe even something more than that. He had proven himself to be one perfect guy for her. She wasn't annoyed by the jokes and the pranks anymore because they were so less frequent, but she liked him a lot.

Lily couldn't sleep and so she went downstairs to the common room to see if the boys were still down there. She slid a robe on over her pajamas and silently tiptoed down the stairs. The common room was empty, except for the map that they had left in plain sight, completely open for the world to see. She muttered "mischief managed" and it went blank when she tapped it with her wand. She slid it into her robe pocket and went back up the steps and into the dorm, eventually falling asleep.

_Meanwhile_

Sirius flung open the curtain on his four-poster bed to see James still awake through a crack in his curtains.

"Cissy," he hissed. James sat up, moving his curtains too. "It was Narcissa."

"What are you babbling about, Padfoot?" asked James tiredly.

"Remember that girl at the Slytherin table during the feast, the blonde one sitting next to my cousin and my little brother, not to mention the Malfoy?"

"Yeah, the one who looked like she was eating something rotten. She was pretty but, Padfoot, she's a Slytherin, we don't talk to them and they don't talk to us."

"No, she's my cousin too. We don't see her much except at family reunions. She can't be serous about that Malfoy kid. Our family has a rep to protect and he's part of some dark society in his family. Apparently he joined just this year, or so Bella tells me. Not that Bella and I get along well, she more so bragged about it. She claims she'll join too. My family has gone to the dogs, Prongs, it really has. I can barely take this anymore, it's driving me crazy. This dark society, it'll do anything to get rid of Muggle-borns like Lily, you should keep a watch over her, Prongs. Do we have all the same classes?"

"No, she has a different potions time than I do, but other than that we have all the same classes," said James after thinking over his classes.

"What are you two talking about?" hissed Remus from the other bed next to James. They both turned to see that he was still awake, too, his curtains also pushed back.

"Just something you should listen to," said Sirius.

"Well, get on with it is that I can sleep," said Remus impatiently. You could definitely begin to tell that the full moon was near; he was becoming irritable. They explained to him what they suspected about Sirius's family and the Malfoys. Remus just nodded and then spoke when they finally finished.

"Padfoot, is right, Prongs," he said calmly. "Watch out for Lily. Walk her to every class and come and wait for her classes to get out and walk with her. Watch the map during classes if you have to, anything to keep her safe. I'll help, she is like a sister after all."

"Me, too," said Padfoot. All three shut their curtains simultaneously and tried to go to sleep, now even more puzzles going off in their minds. They did, eventually find sleep, but they tossed and they turned all night because of the dreams they were wrestling with. They were trying to clam themselves down, but it wasn't working very well, and when they woke up they were sore and tired.

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A/N: Stay tuned! Chapter three is coming soom 


	4. Shopping in Hogsmeade

A/N: Amenti, opalshine, Whitelight72, ReadingRobyn, whiskeygurl007, and Roki, thanks for the reviews they were sweet, keep reading! So, we've made it to chapter three. Sorry to disappoint you all, but the date isn't 'till next chapter; this one has some funny stuff in it though.

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The boys woke up tired and sore. Peter had already escaped to breakfast, seeing as they woke up very late. They took their showers and dressed, talking about what they had discussed last night and what they were doing tonight, the full moon having arrived now.

"You know we can't let him out of the Shack tonight, right? Not with all those people in Hogsmeade, not on a Saturday, never," said James seriously.

"I agree. Keep me in the Shack tonight. I don't want anyone getting hurt, okay?" said Remus thoughtfully.

"Okay, sounds good," said Sirius. "What about Lily? You know she'll want to know what's going on every step of the way."

"Leave her the map," said James. "Speaking of the map, where is it?" They began searching the dorm, interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. James opened the door and Lily stood there, map blank in her hand. "Where'd you get that?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. She handed it to him and he slipped it in his pocket. He was wearing a pair of slightly ripped jeans that were faded at he knees, obviously worn and a white t-shirt that clung to his muscled chest, subtly hinting at it. Lily, although not too used to liking being around James, liked his clothes.

"You three pinheads left it down in the dorm last night," she said jokingly. "I found it when I went to see if you had gone to bed yet. It was in plain sight, open and everything. What would you do if someone found it?"

"I don't know," said Sirius, walking past the doorway.

"Where's Peter?" asked Lily, looking inside the room.

"Left already, he's probably elbow deep in his fifth helpings by now," answered Sirius with a barking laugh.

"Well, James, the headmaster wants to see us. We'd better go then right?"

"Yeah, I guess," answered James, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door and down the steps, opened the portrait hole and fumbled out.

"What's Dumbledore want?" asked James warily.

"Don't know. McGonagall came and got me when I was sitting in the common room and said he wanted to talk to us two. She also said something about how she hopes our relationship won't interfere with duties and how happy the headmaster will be about this. Remember, ever since first year he was pushing us together," said Lily, shaking her head. James laughed and they kept walking, holding hands the whole way. When they climbed the enchanted staircase to his office, Lily called to mind the last time she was sent here.

It was in her fifth year and she was called to act as a witness for something James and Sirius had gotten themselves into. They were picking on Severus Snape, as usual, and ended up hurting him badly enough to send him crying to a teacher. Lily was the only one who had witnessed the whole thing. Lily tried to defend Snape while the fight was going on, but Snape demanded that he didn't need any help and called her a very foul name…a Mudblood. From that day forward Lily said she'd never bother to help him again, and so, after promising that, she told the whole story, landing all three of those boys in detention, Snape, James, and Sirius. She hadn't been back since then.

James went to knock on the door, but before his fist connected with the wall there was a soft "come in" from Dumbledore. Dumbledore had always been very…energetic for his age. He was probably at least one hundred years old, and he still ate candy by the pile and was grandfatherly to every student, but more so to his personal favorites, which both Lily and James had ended up as. They entered the office and were surrounded by the familiar room filled with strange instruments and magnificent tools and potions and the professor's new pet, a large crimson, gold, and orange bird, resting on a perch next to Dumbledore's desk, a phoenix. Lily didn't recall the bird to memory.

"Good morning, my selected head students," he said kindly, gesturing to two chairs that had appeared in front of his desk. Lily and James, finally releasing each other's hands, sat down. "Now, I wanted to bring you up here to congratulate you on two things. One, obviously, becoming the heads this school year, an immense privilege, and honor that you have received. I doubt your new power and rule enforcing abilities will not go to your heads. Knowing you two, I doubt they will. Second, congratulations for finally seeing that you two are perfect for each other. I knew it had to happen eventually. How did you get her to say yes, James?"

"Don't know. It's not like I played a prank on her or anything, just asked her again and she finally said yes," he answered.

"Well, it really doesn't matter, does it? So, you two heading for Hogsmeade today?" The two nodded simultaneously and Dumbledore clapped his hands together thoughtfully. "Well, better be off, shouldn't you?" James nodded, but he had somewhat of a Sirius-like grin on his face. Lily felt like she was missing some inside joke, but didn't say anything. James and Lily stood, going to leave. James grabbed her hand, but she didn't follow, her eyes still on the magnificent bird. Dumbledore followed her gaze.

"Amazing creatures, phoenixes. This one I like to call Fawkes. He has produced two tail-feathers for two wands, only two though. One was given to a student I had a few years back, far before you two were born, named Tom Riddle. He was a different child, never really did feel like he was a good boy. He seemed…strange."

"How long have you had it, Professor?" asked Lily.

"I bought him just before term, he is amazing, good company and an amazing singer," explained Dumbledore with a whimsical smile. Lily turned to leave and left the headmaster's office, James still holding her hand. They made their way back to the dorm and Sirius, Remus, and Peter were there waiting for them.

"So, you guys almost ready?" asked James.

"Pompfrey won't let me go, and Peter is staying so I can help him with the essay that's due first school day. He did all the research, just needs a good way to word it," explained Remus with a regretful smile. Sirius stood up.

"I'm going, though," he said proudly. James slid the map from his pocket and looked it over.

"We better go now, no one is anywhere near that corridor," began James. "So, Remus, we'll be back 'round five no later, possibly earlier, all three of us. That should give us all plenty of time, okay?" All four boys nodded, Lily looked puzzled. Why were they going to an empty corridor, weren't they supposed to go with the rest of the students? James pulled Lily back through the portrait hole, Sirius following closely. They began walking in the opposite direction of the entrance hall. Lily was too curious to ask questions at the moment, so she basically stayed silent, occasionally looking to James for some small clues as to where they were going. Finally they stopped in front of a large statue of a one-eyed witch with a large hump on her back. It was a very ugly statue. Lily remembered it from the map immediately.

"So," began Sirius. "Let me get this straight. Evans has absolutely no idea that we're going to Hogsmeade through the tunnels?"

"That's exactly right," answered James with a joking smile to Lily. She understood it now, why he was biting back laughter in the headmaster's office. James cleared the map and tapped the statue with his wand.

"Dissendium," he whispered. The hump opened up for a passage so small that Lily was sure she wouldn't make it through that hole. James lifted her up and dropped her in gently. Lily squeezed through, turning her body around so that she was facing the direction she was moving, and began crawling on all fours forward. She head two loud thuds behind her and knew James and Sirius had come down in that order.

"You know, this seemed easier last year, mate," said Sirius. "WE need to stop growing before we can't do pranks anymore." As Lily kept going, the passage widened so that she could stand and have to bend over slightly. It was uncomfortable, but doable. Lily soon realized why the boys made her go first, a perfect view of something, she was sure, they wanted to see.

"James Potter!" she exclaimed.

"What?" asked James sin a faking innocent voice.

"You know perfectly well what," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Okay," said James. I wasn't going to go in front of you and leave Sirius behind you, who knows what he'd have done. Obviously we weren't going to make you go last because you could have gotten lost, and you couldn't go in between us either because Sirius and I weren't sure if we could still fit through here. Then, the passage began to narrow again, and she heard a sharp bark from behind her as a large dog pushed past her, running in front of her and towards the small glint of light coming from the trapdoor in the cellar of Honeydukes. She caught up to Sirius, who had opened the trapdoor with his nose and was sniffing around before swinging it open with his hands after transforming back to human. He climbed out himself, James lifted Lily by her waist out and Sirius grabbed her hand, helping to pull her out. The cautiously climbed the steps and entered a store filled to the brim with every wizarding candy imaginable.

"So," began Sirius. "We hit Honeydukes first, then we definitely need to go to Zonko's and then you two can go on your date. We'll meet back at the Three Broomsticks at four-thirty, okay?" James and Lily nodded.

Lily looked around Honeydukes. She had been here before, but never bought anything. She always either forgot her money or her friends dragged her out before she found something she actually thought looked good. James put his arm around her shoulders.

"I am buying everything that catches your eye, okay?" he asked with a grin.

"No you aren't," objected Lily. She reached in her pocket. Darn it, she forgot her money again.

"You know, whether you like it or not, this entire day is my treat, okay. So if I have to knock you out so that I can buy you stuff, I might just have to." Sirius barked a laugh at James's side and then began exploring shelves, grabbing one of everything he walked past. James guided Lily to the front of the store and told her to look at everything and grab what she thought looked good, he would take care of the rest. So, Lily did what he said, very grateful for finally being able to have something from Honeydukes after seven long years. She grabbed the usual stuff that she thought looked good: Licorice wands, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron cakes, acid pops, sherbet lemon (Dumbledore's person favorite), Enchanted Animal Crackers, etc. They had to have spent hours in Honeydukes, and James had to have spent at least twenty sickles on her. She felt bad for it a bit. The two dragged her into Zonko's where she looked around at the prank and joke objects, rolling her eyes at each one because each one had to have been played on her at least once by either Sirius or James in the past years. Then they dragged her over to the Magical Menagerie insisting that she get a pet. Each of them had an owl, but Lily had no idea what she enchanted, so James decided to surprise her, exiting the store with a beautiful cat. It was all black and very agile-looking. It had emerald eyes.

"I got it because its eyes were the same color as yours," said James, blushing. Lily recalled the hundreds of times James had told her of her "beautiful, emerald eyes" and blushed, picking up the cat.

"How are we supposed to get it back?" she asked skeptically.

"I already said I'd watch it while you two were on your date," Sirius said pessimistically.

"You don't have to do that, Sirius. I don't need a pet, honestly," she said.

"Yes, you do," said James with a teasing look in his eyes. James put the cat back in its cage and handed the cage to Sirius.

"You'll need to name her, Evans," said Sirius with an impish smile.

"How about…Midnight?" she asked.

"Can we say _cliché_?" asked Sirius sarcastically.

"Well, what do you think I should name her then?" challenged. Lily.

"I don't know," admitted Sirius.

"How 'bout…Moonstone?" asked James. "It's some kind of potion ingredient and a rock I think."

"Fine with me," said Sirius.

"Alright," conceded Lily with a slight smile.

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A/N: I promise I will update this think in like a day, so hold your horses, read, review, you know the drill. The date is next chapter and I know ya'll are super duper excited, haha! 


	5. The Date

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone, they're really appreciated, keep 'em coming. Oh, and I know the Magical Menagerie and the Ice Cream Parlor in this chapter are not in Hogsmeade, but in Diagon Alley, but I have writers license, right?

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Lily and James left Sirius to go on their date. After practically the entire day, the two only had a half-hour. So, James decided to surprise her by picking the place, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He had his hand on the small of her back as he guided her into the parlor. Her nose filled with the fresh aroma of sweet ice cream and sprinkles and cones, it was mouthwatering. The walls were completely covered in covered in ice cream freezer tubs. They covered every inch except the counter and the doorway. Lily walked around the store, looking at every flavor and every menu posted on the walls above the freezers.

"Pick any flavor you want, beautiful," said James, moving his arm to her waist.

"You really don't have to pay for me," said Lily, blushing.

"Yes, actually, I think I do," said James jokingly. Lily shook her head at him, but he just smiled. It felt like they had just had an entire conversation without speaking. Lily began to walk again, searching for something she thought would be perfect. The store had every single flavor of ice cream imaginable. There was chocolate frog, Every Flavor Beans (which was a rainbow of colors that had every flavor Bertie Bott's had), plain vanilla, plain chocolate, strawberry, watermelon-strawberry, berry, blueberry, spicy chicken (eww!), peanut butter cup, butterscotch, grape, cherry, orange sherbet, sherbert-lemon, plain lemon, carrot cake, birthday cake, wedding cake, chocolate chip cookie dough, Butterbeer, chocolate cake, licorice, cola, and then she saw it, something that made her mouth water more than any other flavor, chocolate chunky brownie chip. Lily had never told anyone she was a choclaholic, and she wasn't sure she ever would, but this was too much to pass on.

"That one," she said, pointing to the open tub in the freezer. James laughed.

"Okay," he said. Florean Fortescue came from the back with two ice cream scoops. "We want a chocolate chunky brownie chip double scoop and a chocolate chip cookie dough double scoop, and I want hers to be special, please," said James, giving his order.

"Double?" asked Lily in astonishment. "There's no way I can finish a double."

"Trust me," began James. "When you taste this, you won't be able to get enough of it." Another woman walked form the back of the store, Florean's wife, we presumed. She also had two Ice Cream scoops. She went to work scooping a large ball of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream out of the open tub and put it on the counter, working it around with the scoops and adding chocolate ships here and there and putting in chunks of cookie dough before putting it on a large waffle cone and scooping out another and doing the same thing. Lily wasn't paying attention to James's ice cream though, but to her own. Florean was taking a scoop of plain chocolate ice cream. He was going to make hers from scratch. He put the scoop on the clean counter and began working it into a flat lump. On top of the lump he put a soft, moist brownie. The he smothered the surface of the lump and brownie with chocolate syrup. He mashed up the brownie into small pieces and mixed the ice cream together then he dumped chocolate ships onto the concoction and mixed those in, followed by chocolate sprinkles. He mixed everything together and split the hunk of ice cream in half, forming it into two large, perfectly round scoops. He took a cone and dipped the top of it in chocolate sauce, then put the two scoops inside the cone.

He handed the ice cream cone to her and she licked it once. There is no way for me to describe how it tasted to Lily except for heavenly. If heaven could be put inside a cone, this was it for her. James wrapped his arm around her waist again, taking a bite of his own ice cream.

"How is it?" he asked, placing some amount of sickles on the counter and turning around to walk out of the parlor.

"It's amazing," she breathed. He laughed and placed his finger on the corner of her mouth, wiping off the chocolate stuck to her lips there.

"You are perfect," he said with another laugh, kissing her and then laughing again. She shook her head and laughed with him, walking outside and sitting down at one of the two-person tables. They ate their ice cream in silence, making faces at each other, another of those silent conversations. When Lily had, to her surprise, finished everything and James was done too, he looked at her, about to bust up laughing.

"You have something right there, he said, pointing to his lips. "Here, let me get it." He leaned across the table, pressing his lips to hers and parting them slightly. What was meant to be a playful kiss became a passionate one. They had to be kissing for about three entire minutes, speaking in between kisses. Lily and James felt a spark there, and they knew it was more than just infatuation now, they were falling head over heels and they knew it all too well. A small beep came from James's watch. He groaned, angling his head so that his cheek was pressed against hers. He sat back down in his seat and looked at his watch.

"We have to go," he said glumly. "Its four-twenty-five." They both stood up, James placed his thumb on her lips and wiped off the remaining chocolate, and she did the same. In the kiss, a lot of the chocolate on her lips had moved to his. They began walking when an autumn wind blew and made Lily shiver. James, of course, noticed and began shrugging out of his beige leather jacket from the train ride the day before. He placed it over her shoulders and she pushed her hands through the too-long sleeves. She placed her arms around his waist and he put his around her shoulders. Her head rested against his muscled chest and his head was on top of hers, his lips pressed against her hair. They began heading o the Three Broomsticks, it getting colder every minute. When they entered the warm pub, Lily got a cold chill, like when you go from a cold place and eat something warm too fast and your spine tingles. Sirius was already sitting at the bar, drinking a Butterbeer.

"Oh, come one, no more public signs affection, please," pleaded Sirius with a playful grin.

"Oh, you come on," began James. "You snog girls right in front of us every single day, and I can't even hold my girlfriend?"

"Exactly," said Sirius, the grin not leaving his face.

"Oh shut up," interrupted Lily. She let go of James and he let go of her, almost at the same time. She sat up at the bar next to James who was next to Sirius.

"Two Butterbeers, please," said James, looking to the bartender. She came back a few seconds later with two and placed them on the counter. James handed her four knuts and gave Lily her Butterbeer. She sipped it and a warm, sweet feeling spread through her body. She felt perfectly warm by now.

When everyone was finished, they stood up and began walking back to Honeydukes in silence. James and Lily were holding hands, but walking much closer to each other now so that their arms and shoulders were touching. Lily would, on occasion, rest her head on his shoulder as they walked, and he would press his lips to her hair and kiss the top of her head. When they made it back to Honeydukes, all they had to do was sneak past the clerk to get back into the cellar and out into the passageway. Sirius changed into a dog right away, going in first and sprinting to the end, leaving Lily and James alone. James kissed her before helping her down into the tunnel and clambering in after her. It seemed to take much less time now, and that was a relief. When Lily climbed out, Sirius was there waiting for her. James lifted her by the waist and Sirius grabbed her hand to help pull her out.

"So, back to the common room, then?" asked Lily, grabbing James's hand when he climbed out of the tunnel.

"Yes, ma'am," he said playfully. Sirius rolled his eyes and began walking ahead of them. They, once again, walked in silence, James and Lily holding hands and standing close together, her head resting on his shoulder again. They climbed through the portrait hole and Peter was waiting for them.

"Where's Remus?" asked Lily frantically.

"Pompfrey already came," responded Peter drowsily.

"Then we better check the map, eh, Prongs?" asked Sirius, climbing into the common room.

"Yeah," said James, pulling the map out of his pocket. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He tapped the map with his wand the writing appeared on it. A dot labeled Remus Lupin was going through the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and going off the edge of the map.

"It's time," said Sirius solemnly. "Let's hope we don't meet a fully fledged werewolf when we get into the shack or else we might have some problems."

"Lils," began James. "We'll be back in the morning, okay?"

"Please, don't get hurt," she said, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest.

"Lily, please, don't worry about us, we've been doing this since fifth year."

"I can't help it, how am I supposed to know if you're okay when the map doesn't even show the shack?"

"Don't worry, I promise to be conscious when I get back. Can't make promises about getting hurt though." Lily laughed a short, sad laugh that seemed to hang in the air gravely. She looked up, into James's eyes and looked back down; her eyes had begus to water. She was worried and James could tell.

"Lils, please don't do this. Don't get yourself all in a fuss over this. I will be okay, don't worry." He placed his hand on her cheek and kissed her passionately, her eyes closed and she was perfectly content. She felt him pull away and when she opened her eyes, he was gone, along with Sirius and Peter. The map lay readable on the common room table, and Lily bent over and began to watch it. She saw the map reading their names, travailing very huddled to together, obviously under James's invisibility cloak. They escaped on the grounds and Peter left them, running to the willow. Then the other two boys ran after Peter and their dots appeared in the tunnel below and escaped off the map.

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A/N: You know what to do by now I hope, read, review and I'll keep the story comin'. Hope you all like it! 


	6. The Full Moon

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed me, you guys are so nice, keep 'em coming.

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James kissed Lily slowly and romantically, and then, when she closed her eyes, the boys threw the invisibility cloak on and James backed away, ducking under the cloak and leaving the common room. They headed out to the grounds and let Peter transform. The small, brown rat ran forward and prodded the knot on the Whomping Willow and the boys escaped down into the tunnel, dropping the invisibility cloak a little bit after the entrance.

They walked through the tunnel, it being far wider and larger than the Honeydukes one, and almost ran. Sirius became Padfoot and ran through the tunnel, barking back twice to James. One bark meant that James needed to transform inside the tunnel, two meant that Remus hadn't transformed yet. James broke into a sprint and emerged from the tunnel in record-breaking speed.

"You all right, Moony?" asked James, seeing him sitting on the floor.

"Yeah, but it's soon, less than five minutes I'd wager. I hope you're ready, I can tell, this'll be a rough one, mates," responded the contemplative Remus.

"We're ready whenever you are," said Sirius, turning back into a human. The brown rat emerged from the tunnel now, deciding not to change back just yet.

"You should know by now, mates, I'm never ready," he said, his tone growing very somber. Moony was always like this on the night of the full moon. He was either very sad or extremely irritable. They didn't know which they preferred. On one hand, he didn't lash out in his depression, but being around him made them sad themselves. When he was irritable and lashed out easily, they didn't become depressed around him, but the most irrelevant sentences and comments would make him angry, it was all so confusing. James and Sirius sat down on the scratched, bloodstained floor. They looked around the room and took in the battered walls, scratched everything, boarded windows, broken furniture, clawed walls and everything else that made this house into the Shrieking Shack. A small silver light flickered through the crack in the nearest window. Remus looked up as the light filtered through the room.

"It's time," he said sadly. His body went rigid and he bent over on the ground, going on all fours. Sirius and James transformed immediately after the light came into the room, and were bracing themselves, the stag had his antlers down, towards the half-transformed wolf. The dog was standing with his feet spread apart, holding to the ground, his stance tensed. Moony's nose began to elongate into a snout, his limbs shortening, his spine going longer to form a tail.

The wolf was formed and was panting heavily, licking its paw. The animagi in the room never slackened their tension. The wolf let out a belting howl and approached the stag, sniffing him over cautiously. The stag made a note to grunt if the wolf got too close. The wolf recognized the stag's scent from a month earlier and moved to the dog, one of his playmates. He sniffed him over and the dog became loose, sitting down and placing a paw on the wolf's head. The wolf growled a low, menacing sound the echoed through the room, its lip curling to reveal its gleaming white teeth. The dog moved his paw and rolled over, showing his belly, a clear sign of submission. Padfoot knew all too well the wolf was stronger and fiercer and faster than he was.

The wolf took in its environment and began barking madly clawing at the walls, apparently trying to get out, but the large animals would not let him. The wolf began to claw at himself, leaving gashes across his face; this had to stop. Prongs looked around the room for something to distract the wolf and found it. He snorted a message to Padfoot and the dog took off into the dining room, picking up a broken chair leg in his mouth. The dog tossed it up in the air and caught it on his snout, balancing it there for a few seconds to get the wolf's attention. When he got it, he tossed the leg into the air towards the stag. Prongs caught it with his antlers and tossed it over to the wolf, who jumped into the air to catch it, throwing it around and catching it back in his mouth. Then the wolf tossed it back to the stag. The stag caught it in his antlers, but the wolf, apparently, changed his mind and charged Prongs, clawing at his chest madly until blood covered his brown fur and large gashes stood out clearly on his fur. He limped over to a corner, dropping the stick to the ground. He lay in the darkness for the rest of the night.

The dog and the wolf play-fought for the remainder of the full moon, Prongs snorted when it got too rough and shook his head to show the wolf his antlers, and it became just plain play fighting again.

_Meanwhile_

Lily stayed in the common room until about eight, watching the map anxiously for something, some sign that would show they were all right, but nothing came. When eight rolled around and everyone was returning from dinner and from Hogsmeade, Lily escaped up to her dorm, still watching the map like an obsessed teen, which she just might have been. Despite James's assurances and promises to be okay, Lily couldn't help but feel like something was seriously wrong, and she was biting back tears every minute. Tine seemed to pass incredibly slowly when all she did was watch a map, and it felt like there was hours passing by when they were only minutes. Soon, her friends came up to the dorm and she went back to the common room, putting the map on the coffee table and sitting on the couch, still watching it for any sign. It felt like the map got bigger with every second, and, despite her protests against sleep, it took hold of her and she fell asleep on the couch, alone in the common room.

Lily's dreams, as usual of late, starred James, but this time they were different. In her dreams James was dying, in the hospital wing, or hurt very badly, and Lily awoke countless times in tears and sweat, trying to pull herself together, but no approaches seemed to help. When she finally cast a sleeping spell on herself, she was able to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep, unafraid of James because he was no longer in her head.

_Meanwhile_

Moony was snarling in a corner as his snout shortened back into a nose and the large amounts of hair fell off. James and Sirius went back to normal, Wormtail staying safely tucked away in a corner until they were safely on the grounds. Moony began having muscle spasms as his limbs lengthened and his spinal chord shortened. He fell back onto the ground in his human form, taking in his environment again. James and Sirius looked him over, there were claw marks in his face, but nothing compared to what it used to be. Moony looked from Sirius to James and took in James's blood-soaked t-shirt, cringing in horror at what he had done.

"Prongs, I…I…I'm so sorry," he said, panting.

"I've h-ha-had w-wor-worse," stuttered James through the pain in his chest. It was true, worse had happened to James form just Quidditch, but never from this. Sirius was casting a spell to remove the blood from the ground so madam Pompfrey wouldn't suspect anything.

"We should go before Pompfrey comes, Moony, okay," said Sirius. Moony simply nodded and stood up. Feeling the weakness in his body, he fell back to the ground, sitting, his legs out in front of him. Sirius put his arm under James's and helped him to his feet, acting as a crutch for him. James's breathing came in hoarse gasps, and his strength to walk was slowly failing him. His vision became darkened and he was fighting to stay at the surface of consciousness. He wanted to keep his promise to Lily. He wanted her to see him awake before he slipped into an unconscious state. He had made a promise to her to be conscious when he got to the common room and he intended to keep that promise. When they clambered through the common room noisily, Lily woke from her sleep. She threw a hand over her mouth to stop her scream of panic. James gave her a weak, forced smile and his eyes closed. Lily ran to him and heard him mutter a few soft words.

"I kept my promise," he whispered before passing out. Tears were streaming wildly down Lily's face as Sirius gently put James in a chair. Peter looked at James disgustedly, trying, apparently, not to vomit.

"Can you do anything?" asked Sirius, not looking at her.

"Can't we take him to the hospital wing?" asked Lily, staring at James's still form.

"And what do we tell Pompfrey, that he was skydiving in the alps when he landed on a hibernating bear that woke up and attacked him? And at this late of an hour, what do we say Lily?" asked Sirius sarcastically. He had a point; there was no excuse for James's condition and especially not at this late hour.

"I'll be right back, she whispered, climbing up to her dorm in a haste, opening the door as quietly as she possibly could so as not to wake her roommates. She sifted through her trunk until she found the Muggle first-aid kit that her mother made her take with her to school. She grabbed it and rushed back down the stairs. She fumbled through the kit, Sirius watching anxiously. He wasn't used to Muggle methods, his family was one of the oldest in history.

"Take off his shirt," said Lily, not looking up. Sirius lifted James's unconscious body and removed his shirt. "Hold him upright, please," she said, pulling out some cream for stopping infection and to help it heal faster. She looked at James, his muscled chest no longer just hinted at, his Quidditch-toned muscles were there, in front of her, but she was preoccupied with the task at hand. There were four sets of three marks, a total of twelve cuts. She rubbed the cream over each of the cuts, taking extra care not to use too much pressure. The bleeding had already stopped, and that was good. The cuts weren't too deep either. She pulled a roll of bandage tape out of the kit and grabbed some non-stick padding. She placed the padding on the cuts, asking Peter to hold them in place while she wrapped James's abdomen in the tape to hold on the padding. This would keep something from infecting them for sure. She was scared for James, and Sirius could tell, it was obvious, for she never stopped crying the entire time. When she was finished, she backed away, wiping her hands on James's already completely ruined shirt. Lily went and draped James's arm over her shoulder and helped Sirius pull him upstairs while Peter lagged behind, having grabbed the map after they left.

They entered the dorm and placed him gently on his four-poster bed. Lily turned to leave, but Sirius grabbed her wrist. She turned to face him.

"He'll be okay, please, do not worry too much. I can't tell you not to worry because I know you will, but I don't want you losing sleep over it either. It's already four in the morning and you need your rest. Go to your dorm and get some sleep, I'll clean up the common room and keep that healer's box in here in case something needs replacing, okay?" Lily simply nodded, tears still streaming down her face. She didn't want to leave him, but Sirius's words were something that surprised her. She wasn't used to him being sincere, and it moved her. Despite everything, he had become her friend.

"You're a good friend, Sirius," she said quietly.

"James would do it for me, it's no big deal," said Sirius, misunderstanding her.

"No, well, yes, that was good of you, but you are also a very good friend of mine," she said sincerely. Sirius smiled; it was obvious he felt she was his friend too.

"Like I said," he began. "Go to your dorm and get some sleep." Lily walked over to James's bed and kissed him on the lips. He might not feel it, but Lily knew it meant something to her just to help, and, despite the past years, she was truly falling for James, and all this happened in only two days, how? After she kissed him, she left the room and went to her dorm, trying to sleep, but not finding the ability to. As she was lying there, she saw a small black cat with startling green eyes jump up on the bed and curl up at her feet.

"Moonstone," she breathed, fighting the urge to cry. She grabbed her wand from the bedside table and cast a sleeping spell on herself like earlier so that she could rest-at-ease while James was recovering in the dorm across the hall.

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A/N: Poor James, huh? Okay the skydiving in the alps thing, my friend made that up when someone scratched him, it's a longer story than that though, but I thought it fit perfectly with the situation. So, read, review, you now the drill, and I'll update as soon as I can! 


	7. James's Mistake

A/N: Thanks to the people who are following the story…you guys rock! All the people who are kind enough to review…you guys rock! Everytime you all review, it seriously makes my day, and I love it! And to ReadingRobyn, you have no idea how hard it is for me to update every day, what with summer reading for school and all that stuff I have to do, so the Supre Woman compliment was sooooo appreciated!

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When James woke up the next morning, it was very late, almost noon. His head felt foggy, like a dream trying to break through into consciousness.

"You gave us quite a scare, mate," came Sirius's voice from the side of the bed. James tried to sit up as he recalled the escapades of the previous night, pain shooting through his ribs and his stomach. It felt like someone had attempted to murder him by slicing him open, and he wasn't too far off base either. He shook his head violently, grabbing his glasses from the bedside table and putting them on. Peter and Sirius were looking at him, the curtains on his bed open. James was bandaged up from the neck to the waist, the pain never slackening.

"Wh-wha-what happened?" he asked, trying to speak through the pain enveloping his entire body.

"Moony clawed you up nice and good," explained Sirius, his expression very somber. "You passed out when we came into the common room and you've been out of it ever since. It's Sunday, mate."

"Lily!" shouted James, ignoring the piercing, shooting pain covering his upper body. "She…is she worried? Does she know what happened? How did I get bandaged up without Pompfrey's help?"

"Lily knows, you passed out right after seeing her. You were a trooper, mate, you kept muttering that you had a promise to keep to her about staying conscious when you got back. And, yeah, she's a fright right now, but she went to see Moony to get her mind off of things. The bandaging, thank her for that. She used Muggle methods, it was pretty interesting."

"We should go and see Moony," said James, finally being able to sit up.

"Hey, you're in no condition at the moment. Drink this and it should help a bit," said Sirius, thrusting a vial into James's hand. James eyed it suspiciously.

"We brewed two potions this morning, you'll need this one first, a wound-healing potion, then we'll give you the blood-replenishing potion. You should be okay in no time, but you'll be sore for a few days." James drank the potion; it was bitter, but it made him feel better, and he removed the bandages from the wounds on his stomach, abs, and chest. The wounds, which had been so large the night before were now much smaller, probably not even going to leave very big scars. Sirius handed him the other potion and James drank it. It was a think, red elixir that tasted disgusting and salty, a lot like when you suck on a paper cut to keep blood from going everywhere. When James drank this, though, he felt much better, and was able to stand up. Sirius pulled out some clean clothes form his trunk and gave them to James. About an hour later, James was ready to begin a new day, his body still very sore though.

They decided to walk to the hospital wing so that they could say hi to Remus and collect Lily. When they got there, Lily was sitting at a chair beside Remus's bed and they were talking to each other. Lily seemed a little detached form the conversation, a worried look in her eye, and when they opened the door she burst forth from her chair and ran to James.

"Are you al right?" she asked, flinging her arm around his neck.

"I'll survive," he joked.

"You better," she said playful grin. "How are you walking, you should be in bed still. You should be resting."

"No worries, Lils, Sirius and Peter brewed two potions that got me back on m feet. I'm a bit sore, but nothing that can't be fixed over a few days. How's Moony?"

"He's okay, a little sore, small headache, but he should be out of here by this afternoon, and ready for classes tomorrow."

"Don't remind me," groaned Remus from the bed. "So, James, how are you feeling?"

"Could be a bit better, but not much. And, you don't worry about it, I am perfectly fine," replied James, walking over to Remus's bed.

"Perfectly fine? Lily told me what you looked like when you got back in the common room and how many cuts I left on you, it's not perfectly fine," said Remus, trying to be hard on himself.

"Moony, I have done worse to myself in Quidditch and far worse to myself in prank screw-ups, I will be okay."

"He's right, you know," said Sirius. James placed his arm over Lily's shoulder and kissed the top of her head. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him back on the lips. The she back away and hit him in the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?" asked James, suddenly startled.

"For leaving me last night in the middle of a kiss, it wasn't fair when you have that stupid cloak."

"Well, you would've never let me leave if I didn't distract you," replied James.

"So, that was just a distraction?" she asked, turning away from him.

"No, of course not, you know I mean every kiss I give you," he said, sweetly, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around to face him. That extra force hurt him a bit. Lily was trying very hard not to smile at him, and it was practically impossible. A huge grin spread across her lips.

"So, James, Lily tells me she got a pet cat yesterday," said Remus, sitting up in his cot. James and Lily turned around to face him.

"Yeah, I bought her cat," he replied, blushing and looking away out a window. Suddenly, Madam Pompfrey strode out of her office.

"I thought I heard voices I didn't recognize. Out, out, Mr. Lupin needs his rest, go, go away, it's lunchtime anyway. Shoo, shoo," said Pompfrey, ushering them out the door and closing it behind them. Lily heard James snort in anger.

"She's always like that," said Sirius, looking to Lily. "Don't bother with her." Lily simply laughed; she knew that Madam Pompfrey was like that, and she knew all too well. A few years back, Lily had broken her arm by getting too close to the Whomping Willow and Pompfrey wouldn't even let the professors in to give her the assignments she missed over one night in the hospital wing while Pompfrey mended the bones.

"Yeah, I remember," said Lily with a grin. "Pompfrey's right though, it is about lunchtime, and I am getting a bit hungry myself, what do you say?" she asked. Peter and James and Sirius all nodded, and they began walking to the Great Hall. James held Lily's hand the entire way and they were so close that were practically hugging each other. Sirius was stifling laughs from behind them and Peter was admiring it, he probably thought it was cute, but maybe he was smiling because they were going to lunch….

"What are we doing today?" asked James as bit into a sandwich.

"Donno, mate," said Sirius. Peter was too enthralled in his food to pay much attention to the conversation. The two boys looked to Lily for something fun to get done.

"Don't look at me. I'm new at this whole breaking rules thing," she said, waving her hands in front of her to stop them from staring. Sirius rolled his eyes and looked away, James looked up from his food at the boy crossing to the Slytherin table. He had greasy black hair and long, hooked nose, Severus Snape. Snape glared down at Lily, revulsion in his eyes.

"So, I thought even a Mudblood could do better than Potter. I am ashamed, Evans," he said, his voice dripping with disgust. He hated them both, James because he was always the butt of his pranks and Lily because she was Muggle-born. James began to stand up, but Lily grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back down.

"He's not worth it," she whispered. James continued to glare at Snape as he turned to leave. "James, calm down, please," said Lily as James continued to glare even after Snape had sat down and was talking to the other trouble-making Slytherins: Narcissa Black, Bellatrix Black, Lucius Malfoy, and Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother.

"Stay away from them," whispered James into Lily's ear. "They're trouble for you."

"They're trouble for anyone," laughed Lily. James decided to disregard that for the moment, deciding not to tell Lily about the allegations against them that the Marauders had come up with a few nights ago. Lily finished her food and stood up to leave.

"I left something in the common room. I'll be right back, you just stay here," she said, as James began to get up too. He conceded after a bit of coaxing from Sirius and Lily and she left. James watched the Slytherin table carefully, waiting for any of the five to get up and leave the Great Hall, if one did, he would go and find Lily, the map in his pocket.

"We need something to do today, mate," said Sirius, interrupting James's glaring.

"You're right, but what can we do?" asked James, taking his eyes off of the Slytherin table for just a few seconds. And in those few precious seconds, four of the five stood up, all but Snape and strode from the Great Hall with wicked glints in their eyes.

_Meanwhile_

Lily grabbed the novel she had been reading on the train and exited the common room, climbing down the stairs. She was in the corridor by the Defense Against the Dark Arts room when all of the sudden, every light in the hall went off. Lily clutched the book to her chest; her breathing became frantic. She was very afraid right now. She heard strange noises from everywhere around her, and then, all of the sudden, a loud cry.

"Serpent Sortia," came the cry from all around her by four strange voices. Four snakes began to slither around on the floor around Lily, and she tried to scream, but someone had cast Sutpefy right before she did and she was hurtled across the corridor, almost losing consciousness. Things began flying at her from nowhere, and Lily was yelling Impedimenta to slow them down so she could move out of the way. Then the lights came back on and four Slytherins were standing over her almost unconscious form, one of them, Bellatrix, had a rock in her hand, and she hit Lily upside the head with it, knocking Lily unconscious.

_Meanwhile_

As James and Sirius were pondering over what on earth they were going to do that day, something hit James, and he looked back over to the Slytherin table. Four of them were gone. He pulled the map from his pocket and looked. Sure enough, there were five people outside the DADA room, Lily, Regulus, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Lucius. James dropped the map on the table, stood up, and sprinted from the room, heading towards the DADA hallway where he saw something that made him roar with rage. Lily was lying on the ground, curled up in fetal position, being mauled by the four. They were kicking her and punching her and hexing her into next weekend. When James entered the hallway, they ran for it, but James got a good look at them, a good enough look to prove that the map was right.

Lily was unconscious when James got to her. She was bleeding and covered in scrapes. There was blood coming from a wound somewhere on her head beneath her hair, and bruises covering every inch of her. James had never been madder than he was in his entire life. He was mad at the four, yes, but he was enraged at himself for not being there, not being able to protect her, and not watching the Slytherin table more closely. He picked her up carefully and held her close, supporting her weight with his arms and chest, cradling her oblivious form against his body. He carried her to the hospital wing and knocked on the door loudly. Madam Pompfrey opened the door, and, seeing only James, tried to shoo him.

"Go, go, I told you, Mr. Lupin won't be out until later this after - oh my word!" she gasped, seeing Lily. "What has happened to her, Potter?" she asked, waving him into the hospital wing.

"I saw some Slytherins beating on her in the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor. They were punching and kicking and hexing like madmen," explained James, gingerly placing Lily on a cot that Pompfrey had just placed pillows and a blanket on.

"Who? What Slytherins?" she asked, growing very anxious.

"There was Narcissa Black, Bellatrix Black, Lucius Malfoy, and Regulus Black," said James, grabbing Lily's hand and holding it tightly in his.

"The teachers must be informed, the headmaster, they will be suspended, expelled, detained for weeks, something must be done," ranted Pompfrey.

"May I suggest that you tell their head of house and my head of house and then I can deal with each one of those no good, dirty little – "

"Now, Mr. Potter," interrupted Pompfrey before James could say something he would regret. "I will tell the heads of Gryffindor and of Slytherin and you will tell your story and if Miss Evans has come around by then, she will tell hers. The offenders will be there too, I promise they will be punished for this action if what you say is indeed true. I know you would never hurt Miss Evans, you've craved her for years and now you two are dating, so I understand that you could definitely not be the culprit, but we will find out if those students are."

"Thanks, Madam Pompfrey," said James, looking down at Lily's still and bruised and bleeding form.

"Please, go and get the potions master and ask him to brew a wound-healing potion right away and to bring it here," said Pompfrey. James looked up at her, astonishment on his face.

"I…I'm sorry Madam Pompfrey, but I can't leave her, I…I need to stay with her, please, Ma'am," replied James.

"Oh, very well, I will do it, but behave whilst I am gone, Mr. Potter," she said, striding out of the hospital wing. James saw Remus lift his head from the pillow, he must have been asleep the entire time.

"What are you doing back here?" he asked, standing up and striding over to the bed where Lily was. He gasped, completely horrified by what he saw: her two blackened, emerald green eyes, her bloodstained clothes, the blood dripping off the strands of her fiery red hair, and the bruises that covered her every inch of visible skin. "How did this happen, James?"

"She was ambushed by Padfoot's family members, you know, except Andromeda, and the Malfoy kid. They were planning to beat her to death if no one stopped them, I'm sure of it," explained James, not looking up from the bruised and bleeding hand he was holding.

"Will she be okay?" he asked, not looking up either.

"I really don't know," said James, a single tear rolling down his cheek and landing on Lily's hand. She stirred slightly and a more peaceful expression crossed her face. Apparently she was dreaming.

Sirius and Peter entered the room, the blank map in hand.

"Where is she?" demanded Sirius. He looked to see James and strode over to him, placing a hand on his should for comfort as James cried broken, tearless, sobs. Peter was there too, looking down at Lily with an expression of angst on his face. Remus was crying too and tears slowly began to appear in Sirius's eyes. Peter seemed to be debating over whether to hold in his tears or to let them flow freely as the other Marauders had done. He, apparently, decided to hold them in. When Pompfrey came back and saw the three crying boys and the troubled one, she didn't have heart enough to make them leave, especially not James, who was muttering to the unconscious Lily as she entered the room.

"I am so sorry, Lily. I should have been there to keep you safe," he whispered, tears streaming down in his face and onto Lily's pillow as he sat on the edge of the bed, still holding her bruised hand in his. Pompfrey poured the potion into Lily's mouth and her wounds began to heal. The she walked to a cabinet and grabbed some solutions that made the bruises fainter, the swelling go down, and the bleeding stop altogether. The four boys stayed by Lily's bedside the entire night, three of them not daring to sleep in case she woke up. Peter cried himself to sleep in one of the chairs and James, Sirius, and Remus stayed awake, either crying as they spoke to her still form or watching her anxiously in a worried manner.

* * *

A/N: You know what they say, no tears in the writer, not tears in the reader. I cried and I kinda hope you did too. I will update quickly, I know how much I hate cliffhangers in books' chapters, so read, review, you know the drill, and feel free to yell at me for stopping at a place like this! 


	8. Lily's Awakening and James's Blame

A/N: Thanks reviewers and everyone else who is reading this. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but you could wait a day right, no one had a mental breakdown did they?

* * *

Lily woke up in the hospital wing, but there was a painshooting throughher entire body. She felt an arm curled tightly around her waist and something pressed against her hair. She turned her head and James was laying next her, he was above the blankets and she was under, perfectly innocent, of course. Lily was comfortable except for the pain, and she tried to remember what had happened, but it was a hazy, foggy memory that wouldn't break through. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all in chairs near her hospital cot. She budged a little and noticed that James was lying so that he fit every curve of her body, and as she moved, he moved with her, forming a type of protective glove around her. Lily's heart began to misbehave, beating wildly in her chest. The headmaster was sitting in a chair a few feet away from the foot of Lily's bed, wide awake. When he saw her look around, he clapped his hands together and every other person in the room woke up. Lily and James both blushed as they looked at each other, James whipping his had from her waist and falling onto the floor in shock.

"Good to see you're awake, Lily," said Dumbledore, standing up and smiling. His smile seemed genuine, but his eyes betrayed him. They held the expression of a concerned father. He seemed relieved to see Lily awake. Lily looked at James, who had righted himself and was now sitting on the edge of her bed, smiling. His face was creased with worry-lines, dark circles under bloodshot eyes. Remus and Sirius had the same faces, only James's seemed more severe, more depressed, and now, more relieved.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked, shaking the drowsiness from her head.

"About two weeks. It's Saturday," replied Dumbledore. "Madam Pompfrey had to give you some dreamless sleep potion so that you could heal and take the proper medication from her." Lily nodded and turned to James again.

"These boys," began Dumbledore. "These boys didn't leave the ward for the entire time you were unconscious. They've been sleeping here, you know, but I do believe that this is the first time that James slept like this." James blushed again as Dumbledore eyed him disapprovingly.

"You gave us a right scare, Lily," said Sirius, speaking up for the first time.

"He's right, Lils," said Remus. "We were terribly worried that you wouldn't be okay."

"We thought you were a goner," squeaked Peter. The other three shook their heads at his honesty.

"What happened to the ones who attacked me?" asked Lily, trying to sit up. James pushed her gently back down onto the cot.

"They have been suspended for three weeks and will reside in their homes for that amount of time, away from this school. Upon their return, they will face detention for a week as well," explained Dumbledore reassuringly. "I do hope they are punished for what they have done while at home too." Lily saw Sirius shake his head out of the corner of her eye.

"Sirius, I thought that Narcissa was the good one," said Lily, turning her head to him.

"You mean Andromeda, right? Narcissa is a Slytherin, don't forget that. Andromeda is a Gryffindor, remember? She would never do a thing like that," explained Sirius.

"I see," replied Lily, looking out the window. She paused, seeing a small, black cat with green eyes on the windowsill inside the hospital wing. "How long has Moonstone been in here?"

"You know, Lily, that is a right smart cat you have there," began Dumbledore. "Only ten minutes after your arrival, she was here, and I'm not quite sure how she knew where you were or that something happened to you."

"That's how she is, Professor, one night she laid at the foot of my bed while I cried myself to sleep," explained Lily, referring to the last full moon. Lily turned to the boys. "I cannot believe you stayed in here! What about classes? What about you, James, both Head Boy and Head Girl M.I.A.(Missing In Action)?I cannot believe you guys!" She was sitting up now, and James knew better than to try and get her to lie back down.

"Lily, calm down," said Sirius.

"Seriously, Lils, the teachers brought our stuff and we did our work here and the prefects took over you and James's job," said Remus.

"You guys did all that for me?" she asked, tears starting to form in her green eyes.

"Lily, you're one of our best friends, as much a friend to us as James is. Obviously James wanted to be here for you and we wanted to be there for him, but more importantly, we wanted to be there for you too," said Sirius, rather sincerely for him. Lily really wasn't used to this seriousness from him, and it freaked her out a little.

"Thanks, guys," she said, the tears spilling down her cheeks. "Oh my Gosh! I've missed an entire two weeks of classes! I'm gonna be so behind!" she exclaimed, hurting herself by the excessive force it took to speak.

"Lily, it's okay," said Remus. "You'll catch up quick, we know you will, plus we've been missing classes too. Now that you're awake, you can do all the work the teachers left for you." Lily groaned, leaning back so her head fell onto the pillow, rattling the bed.

"I must be going," said Dumbledore, standing up. "I am very happy to see that you are okay, Lily, now, I have to make sure that Professor Slughorn hasn't eaten all of my chocolate frogs." And with that, he bustled from the hospital wing and left Lily alone with he boys.

"You okay, Lils?" asked James, bending down and kissing Lily on the forehead. Then, a million questions popping into her head, she answered.

"I think I'll live," she said with a grin. "Just a bit of a headache. How bad was I when they found me? I can't remember a thing after Bellatrix knocked me out."

"Actually, you weren't found, _they_ were caught by James," said Sirius. "And, don't worry, I'll kill my cousins and my little brother, you can be sure of that."

"James?" asked Lily, looking back to him.

"I took my eyes off the Slytherin table for five seconds, one minute at best, and when I looked back, those four were gone. I am so sorry, Lils, I should've been there, I shouldn't have let you go alone. I am so stupid, Lily, can you ever forgive me?"

"Hey, hey," said Lily comfortingly, looking up into his eyes and taking his face into her hands. "There's nothing to forgive. It was my fault, I was reckless and I should've called for help."

"Lily, I should've been there to protect you," he said softly, kissing her cheek. "I'm the reason you're here."

"No, you're the reason I'm not in a cemetery. You and I both know that if they hadn't been caught, they would have beaten me to death with no witnesses or anything. So, what happened after you found me?"

"They ran off, afraid of a witness, I think. You were being kicked and punched and hexed from every direction. You had a cut on your head from being thrown across the corridor, and bruises all over. I carried you to the hospital wing and Madam Pompfrey let me stay and then Moony saw you because he was still here. Sirius and Peter came in only a few minutes later, having seen us on the map. Then the cat came, but we didn't notice it, only Pompfrey did. She said you had a broken rib, which she fixed quickly, the cuts and gashes would leave scars if they weren't attended to quickly, which they were, and the bruises are going away as we speak."

"Lily, I swear, and I am sorry to say this, but my family will not punish them. They will praise my brother and two cousins as heroes, and I can't do anything about it, they already don't like Andromeda and I because we're Gryffindors. The rest of our family is Slytherins. My parents hate me enough as it is just because you're my friend. She hates James because he's dating you, and it's all so confusing," said Sirius, rage coloring his tone. "And when they come back, all of the corrupt students will hail them as heroes too. They won't mind detention one bit, believe you me."

"Sirius, it's fine, please, don't worry about it," coaxed Lily. James was sitting on the side of her bed and she was leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around her frail and weak form. "Don't confront your family if it will only make matters worse."

"I'm sorry for what they did, Lily," he said somberly. "Truly, I am."

"I'll be fine in a day or so, and finally out of here," she replied.

"Oh no you will not," said Madam Pompfrey, bustling around the corridor in an important manner. "You will stay here for at least three more days, Miss Evans. I will not have you roaming the corridors in your condition; you are hurt, ill, maybe. Look, you're shivering!"

"Madam Pompfrey, I will be fine," assured Lily.

"I insist you stay!" she insisted (haha, nice reptition for effect, eh?). Lily groaned pressed her face against James's chest, grumbling something incoherent. Everyone tried to decipher the words, but only one person understood.

"She says you're overreacting," said Remus. They all looked at him, confused expressions on their faces. "It's what she said. She does that a lot, and I guess I'm used to it by now. It is usually in a book though, not…well, you know." They all nodded.

"I am not overreacting," assured Madam Pompfrey.

"She's right, Lils," said James, placing a finger under her chin and lifting it so she was looking into his eyes. Lily scowled at James. "Maybe you should stay here for the next three _days_." He winked at her, stressing the last word. She knew something funny was going on, so she went along with it.

"Okay," she conceded. Sirius and Remus seemed to have understood the joke; of course, Peter had fallen back to sleep in his chair and was completely oblivious to everything.

"See, Madam Pompfrey, we can be very persuasive," said Sirius.

"Well, as kind enough to help as you have been, I think it's right time you boys left. There's a Quidditch game today isn't there? Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, correct?" asked Madam Pompfrey.

"Yes, ma'am," said Sirius. "We expect James to catch the snitch in record time, it being his last season and all."

"Wait, James, have you been missing practices for me?" asked Lily, growing suspicious.

"Yes, yes I have," he said proudly. James never missed something to do with Quidditch; even when he wasn't playing, he went to every game. It made Lily sad that she wouldn't be able to watch his first game this season.

"I…I really wanted to see the game," said Lily sadly.

"It's fine, we'll tell you all about it," said Sirius.

"It's not the same," said Lily, crossing her hands over her chest and trying to look angry.

"She's right you know," began James. "Nothing can beat a good Quidditch game."

"Shut up, James, you aren't making her feel any better," insisted Remus. "Plus, we're supposed to be leaving, right Madam Pompfrey?"

"Yes, now shoo, away hurry, get out of here," she said, ushering them through the doors and closing it behind them. Lily looked out a window, clasping the note that James had thrust into her hand while he was holding her. It was almost dark. Them she unfolded the note and read it.

_Make sure the doors are unlocked tonight and we can bust you outta here!_

Lily folded the note back up and hid it in her pocket. She noticed that she was still in her clothes from two weeks ago.

"Umm," she began. "Madam Pompfrey, can I change my clothes, maybe take a shower, please?"

"Sure, sure, go right ahead," said Madam Pompfrey, grabbing some shampoos and soaps from the cabinet near Lily's bed. "Oh, and be careful of any bandages, we don't want those wet, dear." Lily grabbed the shampoos from Madam Pompfrey and stood up rather painfully. "There are the showers just around the corner there, okay? I'll leave out some clothes from your trunk for you by the time you get out." Lily hobbled painfully around the corner and through a door. She shut it and was in a large bathroom with a large shower. She turned on the hot water and, after taking her clothes off, began to shower. The warm water felt good and her muscles began to relax and loosen. After shampooing, and conditioning her hair, not to mention washing up, she grabbed a towel and stepped from the bathroom. There, on the floor was a set of her very own clothes. She picked them up and went back into the bathroom, dried off and put her outfit on. It was a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt. She wrapped a towel around her wet hair and then she came out of the bathroom and grabbed the books on the bedside table, reading a list of everything she missed.

"This is going to suck," she said to herself. Se spent the rest of the afternoon doing all of her potions assignments and all of her DADA assignments.

At about eight o'clock, Pompfrey had retired to her quarters for the night and Lily's hair was dry and hung down, framing her face. She tiptoed to the door, unhitching the lock and walked back to her bed, not bothering to get under the blankets. She decided to start on her charms work, and had it almost finished when she heard the door open. She turned her head to see absolutely nothing, but the door was open, and all of the sudden, it closed quietly. There was a ruffle of the air and out of nowhere, James, Sirius, and Remus were standing in front of her bed, the invisibility cloak in James's hand, the Marauders' map in Sirius's. It was about eleven o'clock at night by now.

"Well," began James. "We've got a big party in the common room, care to join?"

"You won!" said Lily excitedly, but still whispering.

"Yeah," said James modestly.

"He caught the snitch before anyone even saw it, and in a dive too. I swear, when he has kids they shall be great, I declare it," whispered Sirius playfully, a grin stretched across his face.

"So, Lils, are you coming to the party or not?" asked James, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and stood up, and James pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When they finally broke apart, the invisibility cloak had been thrown over them, and it was really awkward because everyone was walking with their knees bent so that the cloak didn't show their feet and ankles. _Theyare far too tall for this now_, thought Lily. They clambered through the halls and finally through the portrait hole. They threw off the invisibility cloak and everyone cheered noisily.

"Lily!" screamed the crowd in unison. A bunch of Gryffindors younger than her rushed up to greet her.

"We were so worried," said one.

"Yeah, we can't believe those Slytherins," said another.

"Please, please," said James. "Lily needs her rest." He picked her up in his arms again and she began to laugh. He dropped her onto one of the sofas and sat next to her. James was watching the party, and had his head angled towards Lily, so all she had to do was sit up and kiss his shocked, surprised lips, but, she got the feeling he was okay with it because it lasted much longer than was intended to. James placed his hand on the side of Lily's face and she had her hand on the side of his neck. Lily's heart was beating like crazy the entire time, and the spark she felt before was there again, more potent, and the butterflies flappedrazily in her stomach. Little dod Lily know that James was feeling practically the same way. After about five minutes with a few breathes in between, the snog stopped and the party was going on nonstop. When four in the morning finally hit and practically everyone had gone to bed but the Lily and the Marauders, they threw the invisibility cloak back on and accompanied her back down to the hospital wing. When James left, he gave her another one of those disappearing act kisses, and left Lily alone with just her cat, who lay curled up at the end of her bed, purring softly.

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A/N: So, you know what to do by now, I hope! Nothing much I can say about this chapter except for: aww! I think they might be in love...keep following to find out!

Oh yeah, and just to let you know ahead of time, I will be going out of town on tuesday and I don't know if I can get to a computer while I'm in New Mexico, and if I can't, trust, me, I'll be writing, and have everything posted the day I get back, promise. Who knows, maybe I can use the internet there, but if I can't, you know the plan. Please don't be mad at me okay?


	9. Plans

A/N: reviewers, you guys are awesome, keep doing what you're doing! For those of you who have made this a favorite story: Whitelight72, littlelolo, Harry Potter Girll, Amenti, opalshine, whiskeygurl007, and Mz Qt, I love you guys, you're so sweet! And for the people who have favorite authored me: whiskeygurl007, opalshine, and littlelolo, you guys are pretty much awesome, I must say!

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The next three days continued in much the same way. James, Remus, Sirius, and sometimes Peter would come and visit her in between classes and every morning, and then James, Remus, and Sirius would smuggle her out at night. On occasion, one of Lily's two best friends would stop in and talk to her endlessly for hours and they would catch up on everything. Lily would do her schoolwork when she was alone and in the dead of night she would unlock the door to the hospital wing and the three boys would rescue her. Usually they took her down to the kitchen to have some edible food at least once in her day. The Marauders knew what the hospital wing food tasted like, eww…. The house elves were happy to help in any way they could, and it went on like that for those full three days. Lily began to notice that everytime she was James now, her heart was misbehaving and her pulse raced, the butterfliues in her stomach flapping. James was beginning to notice the same thing about himself. 

When Lily's period of prison was over, she left the hospital wing, with many protests from Madam Pompfrey, and headed for breakfast early that Tuesday morning. The Marauders would be waiting to meet her there because they knew she would be getting out today.

"Lily!" cried her best friend Claire, bounding up and hugging her before she even got to her seat, her other best friend Tanya on Claire's heels. "We're so sorry we didn't visit as much as we wanted to, really, but Slughorn's been piling on the homework, I even missed the Quidditch after party."

"I missed the game," wined Tanya. Claire, of course, couldn't and wouldn't miss the game, being one of the three chasers on the Gryffindor team. The other two were a fifth year boy and Sirius. A sixth year girl was keeper, and James, of course, was seeker.

"So, you and James, huh?" suggested Tanya, as they began to walk to the table. Lily blushed and looked the other way. How on earth did they find out? "It had to happen eventually," she finished after a brief silence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Lily warily.

"Well, if he kept asking you, you would have to say yes sooner or later, and we were right, weren't we?" answered Tanya. Lily noticed Claire staring at something and followed her gaze to see Sirius. Lily almost died right then and there.

"Claire, you cannot be serious. I mean, yeah, he's my friend, but he's also a womanizer who has a different girlfriend every three days," explained Lily. "He'll only want you for a day or two and then he'll dump you like the rest of them."

"Hey!" Claire rounded on Lily, her blue eyes blazing with anger. Claire was the prettiest girl in their house, maybe even in their year. She had perfect, crystal blue eyes and long, straight blonde hair. She was one of the nicest people Lily had ever met too, well, nice to anyone but a Slytherin on the Quidditch field. Sirius, surprisingly, had never asked her out. "What if I'm different from the other girls?" she asked, more to herself than to anyone else.

"There's always a chance," Tanya chimed in.

"Maybe you're right," conceded Lily. She made it to the table and sat next to James, who was in the middle of his third plate of food. Tanya sat on the other side of Lily. Lily noticed Claire sit across from Sirius. She had liked him ever since they became teammates, and she always tried to get his attention. James, on the other hand, noticed the look that Sirius gave Claire. It wasn't like the looks he gave other girls, and James knew it too, but only he noticed it. Lily looked back down at the food in front of her. The four Marauders were shoveling in food so fast that they could rival a pack of wolves.

"That's disgusting," commented Lily, grimacing. She took a bite of toast, waiting for an answer.

"You'll get used to it," countered Remus in between bites. "What're we doing after classes today?"

"I've got plans," said James quickly.

"Me too," said Sirius.

"What are – " began James.

" - You doing?" finished Sirius. If Sirius and James looked alike, they could've passed for twins. They practically read each other's minds and finished each other's sentences. After all, when Sirius's family disowned him, the Potters took him in, and from then on, Sirius lived with them during summer break. They looked at each other suspiciously, each thinking that pranks had been thought up, one without the other, a sin for them.

"Nothing," they said in unison. Lily tried her best not to laugh, but a small giggle escaped. The two adopted brothers turned away from each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

"So…um, Claire," began Sirius. His voice sounded weak and nervous. Lily's, James's, Remus's, Peter's, Tanya's, and, of course, Claire's heads snapped up abruptly, eying Sirius suspiciously. Lily and Tanya knew that Claire liked Sirius, but he had never asked her out. They assumed it would be weird with her being Lily's friend and him being James's or maybe it was a teammate thing, they didn't really know. On the other hand, James and Remus knew that Sirius never asked Claire out because Sirius liked her, liked her more, and in a different way than he liked his other girlfriends, but Sirius never had the courage to ask her out. (Aww!)

"Yes, Sirius," urged Claire expectantly.

"Um, would you…I don't know…maybe want to go for a walk on the grounds tonight…you know, after classes." Sirius's close friends (Lily, James, Remus, and Peter) could hear how nervous and shaky his voice was. Lily had never in her life seen Sirius like this, and especially not around a girl. It made Lily wonder a little.

"I'd love to," came Claire's eager reply. James's jaw dropped. Remus dropped his fork, and Sirius…well, he held it in pretty well, except for screaming "yes" in the middle of the Great Hall. Peter was too interested in food to take much notice of the reply. He assumed that if Sirius screamed a positive thing, she had given him the answer he was looking for. Lily placed her finger under James's jaw and tapped it once and he closed his mouth.

"Sorry," he said, sounding embarrassed. After the Marauders finished what seemed like four plates of food, they went to their classes, thankfully, they all had Defense Against the Dark Arts together, and they walked together. Sirius walked next to Claire, grabbing her hand after talking a while. James and Lily walked together, of course, and were holding hands the entire time, staying so close together that, if Lily had been closer, James would be carrying her. Remus and Tanya walked ahead of everyone; they were good friends, and talked animatedly about what might happen between Sirius and Claire, not to mention James's mystery plans tonight. When the entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts Room, Lily went to her usual seat, James did not, he sat next to here, Sirius on the other side of him and Claire next to Sirius. Remus and Tanya sat together too. James pulled out a piece of parchment and began writing a note. He passed it to Lily. She unfolded it and read it.

_I have a surprise planned today…I think you'll like it_

Lily began to write the note back.

**Tell me what's going on, James.**

_Can't_

**Why not?**

_If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, and I'd have to kill you._

**Ha, Ha, very funny, would you just tell me?"**

_Nope, hang on, Pads has a not for me too._

**I swear, if you land me in detention…**

James opened up Sirius's note.

**What's going on, mate?"**

_It's a surprise for Lily, don't worry, no pranks without you, promise._

**So, what're you gonna do?**

_I was thinking that since Lily probably wants to spy on Claire, and I definitely want to spy on you, we were going to take a ride._

**Wait, you mean…**

_No, Padfoot, gosh, get your mind out of the gutter if you wanna impress Claire._

**So, you mean, you're taking her flying. She deserves a good scare. I haven't seen her on a broom since first year flying lessons.**

_Exactly. Don't tell her though; it's a surprise._

**You got it, mate. Now go talk to your girlfriend, I need some sleep.**

_Thanks._

James moved back to Lily's note, watching Sirius fall asleep next to him.

_Don't worry, Lils, you won't get a detention. I've never been caught passing notes before._

**Not sure I can trust that…So, are you sure you won't tell me?**

_Yes, I am very sure that I won't be the one to tell you, and if Padfoot does, I'll strangle him._

**Thanks for the tip. So, what do you think Sirius and Claire'll talk about?**

_Not sure, but I think we'll find out sooner than you think._

**Still not trusting that notion, Potter. We should be taking notes on this stuff.**

_But taking notes on interesting stuff like what you say to me is so much more…well, interesting._

**Cute, but, I need to take notes, I missed two weeks of classes remember?**

_So did I._

**Doesn't matter, please let me take notes.**

_Fine, but make it snappy, and you can always keep passing notes with me if you want to, I mean if class gets too boring for the genius Lily Evans._

**Shut up, James.**

Lily didn't write anymore after that, and she didn't look at the note either, because she knew if she did, she would be wrapped up in another conversation with James that got her breaking the rules like he had a tendency to get her to do. All day long, the seating arrangement stayed the same and James and Sirius passed notes all class period. It was funny. Lily kept a close eye on Sirius every time he sat next to Claire.

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A/N: Oooh...looks like another date, only this time it's a complete surprise for Lily, and Sirius...A CRUSH! Wow, breaking news ladies and gentlemen! So, read, review, you know what to do! Next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow! 


	10. Claire's Secret

A/N: reviewers…you're awesome. People who have favorite storied or authored this, you guys are amazing! Thanks everyone for the support! Sncaggie, thanks for the favorite story and favorite author, gotta love you guys.

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Lily was still nervous when the end of classes came around, and she could tell that Claire was just as nervous. James ran up to his dormitory and grabbed his broom.

"You ready for your surprise?" he asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her through the portrait hole.

"You ready for a walk?" Sirius asked Claire, both of them nervous. She simply nodded and followed James and Lily out of the portrait hole. Remus and Tanya positioned themselves so that they could see out the windows in the common room and watch the entire thing. James pulled Lily out of the building and they stood in the entrance hall. He grabbed both of her hands in his and kissed her sweetly. He jumped on the broom and told her to get on behind him.

"What?" she asked, immediately nervous. There was one thing she was afraid of, and that was heights. She hated first year flying lessons; they scared her.

"Come on, you coward," said James playfully. Lily bit her lip and mounted the broom behind James, wrapping her arms around his waist. She buried her face into his shoulder as they took off. "You know, it's not fun when you don't look. Don't worry, I won't let you fall, can't you trust that?"

Lily lifted her head a margin and took in the sights. They were soaring above clouds, a layer below them and a layer above them. Lily, being in her school skirt, was sitting sidesaddle, looking down on the Forbidden forest that she could barely see. James laughed and entered a dive, Lily's arms reflexively going back around his waist as she worked up a good scream.

"Don't scream or we'll get into trouble," said James, stopping her. Lily held her breath as James pulled out of the dive at the last second. "I promise, the rest will be more mellow.

_Meanwhile_

Sirius and Claire were walking along the grounds next to the lake.

"Sirius," began Claire. Up until now, it had been complete silence.

"Hmm?" he asked, turning to her and holding her hand.

"I need to know something. I want proof that I'm different from the other girls you have dated. What will make you not take me for granted?" she asked, anxious for the answer.

"How can I prove that to you?" asked Sirius, looking into her eyes.

"Um…what's my full name?"

"Clara Shay Martin."

"How did you know that. Only Lily and Tanya know my middle name and I never say it aloud."

"I have my sources."

"Okay, what color are my eyes?" She turned away and closed her eyes tightly.

"That's easy. No man on this earth could miss those startling crystal blue eyes."

"I would've settled for just blue."

"Ha! ha!"

"What's so funny?"

"You are, Claire."

"How so?"

"You're different from the other girls I've dated. Well, for one, I don't think I've ever liked a girl the same way I like you and never to this extent. You are perfection, Claire. You are the perfect girl for me." Claire turned away, blushing.

"How long?" she asked.

"What?" asked Sirius, seeming to be pulled away from a distant daydream.

"How long have you liked me?"

"Since we became teammates. Back in third year I think."

"Really? That's when I started to like you."

"Wait, you weren't just saying yes to be nice or because all the other girls do, you actually like me…you know, for me?"

"I think you are one of the cutest, funniest guys I've ever met. You know, I've spent the last three years trying to get your attention?"

"I didn't know that. I was too preoccupied with getting yours," laughed Sirius.

"You have a very hearty laugh, Sirius, almost like a bark." Sirius tensed a little and then remembered that James only dated Lily for a few hours when he told her.

"Thanks," said Sirius, trying to ease the atmosphere. "So, um…good game on Saturday."

"Thanks, you too. I think we have a chance of getting the cup this year," she said happily.

"I don't think so…I know so!" With all our hard work, not to mention how amazing James has gotten because Lily finally went out with him, and how great I'll do with you finally going out with me."

"And you're forgetting my dream come true too."

"Well, yeah, but…I mean," he joked. Claire, who had her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, bumped into Sirius on purpose for that joke. He pushed her back, but they were a bit close t the lake and she stumbled in, getting her shoes and socks completely wet. Her eyes went wide and she got a wicked glint in her eye.

"Come here, you!" she said, grabbing his shirt and yanking him into the water with her, splashing him on the face.

"Hey, hey, come on now," pleaded Sirius. Claire began to walk out of the lake, but slipped and grabbed Sirius by the collar, pulling him down with her. She landed on top of him and her helped her up.

"Sorry," she murmured, trying not to laugh.

"It's fine," admitted Sirius, trying not to laugh as well. By this time, Sirius was soaked and in September, that was not a good thing.

"Do you want to go back inside?" she asked, seeing him shiver.

"And miss more time with you? Never," said Sirius, trying to make it more dramatic. "So, do you trust now that you are not just one of the bimbos I pick from a crowd?"

"Yes, yes I do," she laughed, but then remembered something. "You dated Tanya for a day though."

"Oops," said Sirius, expecting to be pushed back into the lake.

"Ha! Ha!" she laughed. "It doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Not really. Not unless you think it matters," he recovered quickly.

"No, I don't think it matters at all. That was two years ago."

_Meanwhile_

"I think it's going rather well, don't you?" Tanya asked Remus, looking out the window and down on the lake. They couldn't hear the conversation, but they could see them laughing and having fun.

"Very, my friend, very well," said Remus. They had a tendency to talk proper when they were together, it was an inside joke they had from first year.

"So, how about James and Lily?" asked Tanya, pointing to the sky. Remus looked up and saw Lily with her arms wrapped tightly around James's waist, a look of terror on her face as James went into a dive.

"I think Lils will be traumatized for a while," commented Remus.

"Me too. She's afraid of heights, you know?"

"Trust me, I know. During first year flying lessons she wouldn't stop screaming."

"Typical Lily."

"Come on, we might miss something," said Remus, looking back out the window.

_Meanwhile_

James had kept his promise to Lily and they were gliding slowly over the forbidden forest, the sunset in the background and James kissed Lily romantically.

"I am still so sorry about not being there to protect you," said James. It sounded like he was admitting some great sin in a confessional.

"James, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"I can't help it Lily, it's just that, I…I…" he stopped.

"You what, James?" urged Lily.

"Lily, I love you, there, it's said, now if you want to call me crazy because we've only been going out for a few weeks, then fine, I know I'm crazy. I didn't believe it at first, but now I know it. Lily, every time I'm with you my heart beats like crazy, I have butterflies going spastic in my stomach and my pulse shoots through the roof. I tried to ignore it, tried to tell myself that we're too young, too short of a relationship, but I was lying to myself and punishing myself. Lily, I love you." Lily had been listening intently to a story that sounded identical to her own. She sighed and looked at the sunset.

"James," she began, rubbing her temples. James, seeing this reaction, thought Lily was about to dump him and he felt his heart being wrenched in two. "James…I think you just told my story." James immediately felt better and wrapped his arms around Lily, Kissing her deeply on the lips. When he finally let go, she was able to get the words out that he so desperately wanted to her and she so desperately wanted to say. "I love you, James. As pathetic as it sounds compared to the great detailed story you gave, I love you. See, you stole my response." James laughed and kissed her again. They sat up there for a few hours, having another of their silent conversations. When the stars finally came out they stared up at those.

"If I could count these…you know what I'd label them?" asked James cutely.

"No, what?" asked Lily warily.

"The amount of reasons I'll never let Lily Evans out of my arms." Lily, having no reply to that that wouldn't sound cheesy, rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her again. He whispered in her ear the rest of the time, sweet and cute things, sometimes even funny. It was then that Lily realized three things.

"Oh my God," she screamed, almost falling off the broom. James grabbed her and kept her from falling. "Patrol…dinner…after hours!" For one thing, Lily hadn't noticed how hungry she had become, for another, they were supposed to patrol that night and they had no idea what time it was, and it was probably way after hours.

"Good point," said James, flying the broom to the ground and getting off. He walked back inside and looked on the clock in the great hall. "Eleven. When's patrol?"

"Midnight. We made it. Hopefully our bizarre friends come back to the common room in time to tell us what happened. I don't have the heart to punish them, so you might have to."

"I can't punish them either," said James reproachfully.

"Then, I guess they're off the hook," said Lily walking back to the common room.

_Meanwhile_

Sirius and Claire continued to walk in wet clothes along the shore of the lake, talking about nothing and at the same time, everything.

"Your family?" asked Claire.

"You mean the Potters, really nice people," said Sirius playfully.

"No, your biological family," clarified Claire.

"I don't have one," said Sirius spitefully.

"James's parents are my parents and James is my brother, nothing more to it."

"Oh…I understand. I didn't know you hated them too," she shrugged.

"Not before last week, that's when I started hating them, after what happened to Lily. I can't believe my cousins and brother. The worst part is that they won't be punished at my mum's house."

"That really stinks. Now you know why I hate Slytherin so much."

"Yeah. The only person I am biologically related to is my cousin Andromeda. She's the only one who is like me, who doesn't hate Muggle-borns and who hates Slytherins. I'm sure they'll disown her eventually too. Oh, and then there's my uncle, he's an okay guy. He was disowned for sending me money a few years back. Can you believe my family. Associate with Muggles, off tree, associate with people off the tree…off the tree, squibs, not a member of our family…God, I hate them!"

"It must've been hard," said Claire, placing a hand on Sirius's shoulder for comfort. "I mean, never really having a family that cares about you. I know the feeling." Sirius looked at her with surprise, and then his expression changed to a questioning look. Claire pulled down the neck of her hoodie and bruises were clearly visible. Then. She pushed up her sleeves and there were more bruises and sores. "My parents…they fight a lot. If I try to stop 'em, I get hit. My dad drinks a lot and my mom tried to run away…take me someplace where I can have a good home. You know I'm a pureblood right?" Sirius saw a tear creep down Claire's cheek and wiped it away with his finger. She smiled appreciatively, and then let Sirius answer.

"Yeah," said Sirius. Claire noticed his expression was softer than she had ever seen it. It was softer than when Lily was in the hospital wing.

"Well, my dad…he beats me for having Lily and Tanya for friends. Tanya's mum is a Muggle and you know Lily's family. That's why I love this school so much, my parents aren't here. I hate summers, and I never go back on other breaks. I stay, always." Sirius grabbed her hand when she took it out of the hoodie pocket.

"Me too, but mostly because James stays, see, his parents go on a lot of trips."

"Wait, you can't tell anyone what I just told you. You can't even tell Lily and Tanya, they don't know. Why do you think I always wear long sleeves?"

"I understand, your secret's safe with me."

"We should go, it's probably late," said Claire, looking up at the star-filled sky.

"Yeah, you're right." They walked in silence back to the castle, holding hands and thinking. They walked back up to the common room and James and Lily were already back. It was eleven thirty now.

"What happened?" asked Lily eagerly. She noticed Sirius's and Claire's completely soaked clothes.

"We talked," said Sirius, with a soft look to Claire. Lily gave them a disbelieving look.

"Yep, we talked, laughed, fell in the lake, and that's about it," said Claire with a smile. Claire was good at bottling up emotions; she had done it for seventeen years. When this school year finally ended, she would be free of her parents' home and free of their fighting and free, most of all, of her father. Truly, Claire was happy now though. She would never go back to her parents' house and now she had Sirius. She was, for one of the first times in her life, truly happy.

"Well," said Lily, "We have to go on patrol, bye now!" she said, more perky than usual. She grabbed James's hand, and with a shrug to Sirius, James left with Lily.

A/N: I know, I was inspired…really quick update, huh? Well, I can't be back on tonight, so I had to post this now. So, what do you think of Claire and Sirius, cute couple, huh? So, you know what to do, read, review, etc. Oh, and to answer a question I recieved, I am not sure yet whether Remus and Tanya will get together, but there's always a possibility...


	11. Surprises

A/N: So, to my reviewers, thanks a ton, I think I may get to have two chapters put out before I leave for New Mexico, but my friend just told me that she has no internet up there, how much does that stink? So, yeah, I'll keep writing while I'm gone and post everything the day I get back. High School starts on the 16th for me, so I may get behind for a while…don't expect updates everyday once school is started. Oh, and I forgot to include a description of Tanya, so here goes: She has curly dark brown hair; her dad was born in Spain and her mother in England. Her skin is darker than most peoples' in England because of her Spanish heritage. She's really pretty and has dark brown eyes that almost look black. She's average-weight, about 145. She's average-height too. So, besides the exotic look she has to her face, she's pretty much average. Long note, huh?

* * *

The rest of the month passed in much the same way, Claire and Sirius became inseparable, much to Lily's dislike. Lily and James were constantly whispering to each other and kissing in the middle of corridors and when the teachers weren't looking, even in class. Remus and Tanya considered themselves the good influences that no one bothered to follow and took charge of everything. When the before a Hogsmeade weekend came, the student body received some news that gave everyone a different opinion. 

Dumbledore came to the platform during dinner and everyone turned his or her eyes to him.

"We have made some changes to the Halloween feast this year, my friends!" he said happily. "This year it is not just a feast…but a ball, a masquerade ball! The next Hogsmeade visit, tomorrow,will be for the students to retrieve their clothes, dress robes, masks, you know what I mean, at the stores. Hogsmeade has been informed of this change and have brought in some amazing styles that we teachers think you will enjoy. You can choose just a mask or go in a theme or even a costume if you want!"

There was an eruption throughout the Great Hall, some of dismay, some of excitement, and some of plain horror, and even yet of anger. Lily, Claire, and Tanya clapped their hands together excitedly, the boys, on the other hand, groaned in dismay.

"You boys can dance can't you?" asked Lily jokingly,from across the table, pointing at James.

"Yes, I can,"defended James grabbing Lily's hand and kissing the back of it. Lily blushed and pulled her hand back, leaning across the table and kissing James for a few seconds before getting back in her seat.

"I ain't going, mates," said Sirius defiantly.

"Why?" asked Claire angrily.

"Because…um…it sounds…stupid," he said.

"I don't think that's your reason, do you, Moony?" asked James conspiratorially.

"Not at all, Prongs, not at all. I think our dear Padfoot may be hiding something from us, what do you think ladies?"

"I agree with you, Remus," said Tanya, getting in on the joke.

"Oh would you all just shut up, I can't dance like…at a ball kind of dancing, okay? I am a fine dancer, I can't waltz or dance to that classical trash," said Sirius, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I can teach you," volunteered Claire.

"How do you know how to waltz?" asked Sirius warily.

"My mom, she used to be a professional dancer. Now she owns a studio somewhere. I never go, but she's taught me everything she knows," answered Claire.

"I…I guess maybe you could, I don't know, teach me to dance," conceded Sirius.

"Um…you forgot the magic word," said Claire jokingly.

"Please?"

"Deal."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, Remus, what about you?" asked Claire, turning to Moony.

"I am a fine dancer if I do say so myself," said Remus proudly. No one bothered to ask Peter, they knew by the way he walked that he probably wouldn't even bother going. He didn't want to be taught either, probably afraid of embarrassing himself.

"I hope so," said Tanya, because between these four, you'll end up my only partner. "One thing left to do is to figure out our costumes. I think we should surprise each other."

"Good idea," said Lily enthusiastically. "You boys don't tell us either."

"But…wait, we don't agree to this," said Sirius, sharply, pushing Claire's waiting hand away. "I'm not shaking on this."

"You have to, or Claire won't teach you to dance," said Tanya jokingly.

"Not fair!" James chimed in.

"Perfectly fair," said Lily haughtily.

"Alright, alright," conceded Sirius, shaking Claire's hand. Lily held out her hand for James to shake, but he raised his eyebrows, looking at it.

"You can't blackmail me or take something away, I am not agreeing to this," he said confidently.

"If you love me, you'll do it," said Lily sadly, sticking out the bottom lip and putting on a pouty face. James saw her face for a split second and looked away angrily.

"No, not that face, no, it's not fair," he said angrily.

"As I said before, it's perfectly fair," she said in a whiny voice. Sirius put his hands on James's head, turning it around to look right at Lily.

"If I'm going down, you're going down with me, mate," said Sirius in an in-your-face-manner.

"Fine," James sighed. "Just stop with the face." Lily relaxed her face and the three girls turned to Remus.

"I agree," he said before Tanya and Lily could mention blackmail (remember Lily was like a sister and Tanya was one of his really good friends). He held up his hands in surrender.

"Good," said Tanya proudly. So, it's settled then. We can start out the Hogsmeade visit with you boys and then we'll have to part ways and go shopping. And absolutely no cheating, peeking in bags, listening in on private conversations, etc., okay?" asked Lily forcefully.

"Yeah, fine," muttered James.

"So," began Lily in a whisper, turning away form the boys and making sure they couldn't hear. What do you thin we should go as?"

"I think we should all go with a theme involved," whispered Claire softly. "How about like elements. Lily, with that hair, you have to be something involving fire."

"Okay," said Lily, "Tanya, you have an earthy look about you, I mean look at that tan and that hair, so I guess some creature to do with earth."

"Fine by me. Claire, with eyes like yours and hair like that…water, most definitely," said Tanya as softly as she could.

"You don't expect me to go as a Grindylow or something, do you?" asked Claire with a grimace.

"No, something pretty, something graceful. We'll figure it out when we get there, don't worry," said Lily in a whisper. They all turned around, folding their hands on the table and looking at the boys who were whispering amongst each other too.

"We all need a theme," whispered James. "I think something a group would wear. Let's think, here, mates."

"I know," said Sirius sarcastically. "How about three wizards?"

"Padfoot, stop being an idiot," said James jokingly.

"How about…oh I know, Prongs, I've got it. The Three Musketeers!" sais Sirius excitedly.

"Padfoot, you're a genius," said Remus.

"I know…I know," said Sirius, prolonging the moment.

"I like it, sound good, boys?" asked James.

"Sounds good," the other two echoed back. They also turned around and placed their hands on the table, looking across the table at the girls.

"So, you have your ideas?" asked Lily.

"Yes, we do," said James proudly. "And you?"

"Of course." Lily didn't know how hard it would be not to ask their costume ideas, but now that she did, she wasn't sure if this deal was a good idea. The boys were thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter…the Hogsmeade visit the next day…Saturday, and the Halloween bash is going to be the chapter after that, the next Friday. So, in two chapters, we'll cover a week. So, you know what to do, right? 


	12. Costume Hunt

A/N: So, to my reviewers, thanks a ton, and to the people who have favorited me in any way, either story or author, gotta love you guys! Oh, and I forgot to mention last time that Sirius and Claire haven't even kissed yet. Make sure you look at the links to the pics I have supplied on my homepage, it took me forever to find dresses that would fit my vision, so please look at them. It would mean a lot, then tell me what you think of my choices.

* * *

Lily woke up early the next morning and looked in the bed next to hers. Claire and Tanya were already awake and had already taken showers and gotten dressed. Claire was drying her hair and Tanya was looking out a window. When Claire was finished in the dorm bathroom, Lily took over and had her shower and got dressed. She put on a gray hoodie and a pair of jeans and waited for her hair to dry. Claire offered to help, but Lily didn't really care much about what her hair looked like, so she let it air dry.

About five minutes after they were all ready, there was a knock at their door, and Lily went to open it.

"Hey, you ready, Lily?" asked James.

"James, we can't do that with them coming," she said, referring to the underground passageway into Honeydukes.

"Oh, right."

"You guys ready?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. The two girls nodded and went to join Lily. James grabbed her hand and pulled her down the stairs where they met Sirius and Remus.

"Good morning, fair ladies," said Sirius jokingly.

"Oh shut it," said Tanya equally joking.

"Just thought I'd be nice," he replied, trying to sound hurt.

"Come on, Sirius," said Claire, grabbing his hand. "I need to talk to you about something." She pulled him over to a secluded corner.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't get a sleeveless dress or costume or whatever, remember the bruises, they'll show up?"

"I have an idea. Roll up your sleeves," he said kindly. She did what he said and he muttered a spell. Each bruise faded a bit until they were the same color as her skin. "It'll last for twenty-four hours, no more, no less, and it won't kill the pain, just make them not show up."

"Thank you so, so, so much, Sirius. You saved me a lot of explaining to Lily and Tanya."

"You're welcome," he said with a grin. "Was that all?"

"Yeah, let's go." Sirius grabbed her by the hand and led her back to the group. Claire noticed Sirius having a silent conversation with James, constantly nodding towards Lily. She was intent on asking about that later.

"Lily, I need to talk to you real quick," said James, leaning down and whispering in her ear. "The next full moon, it's tomorrow night. You're gonna have to make some excuse to them on why we're not at dinner and not in the common room all night, okay." He leaned away, waiting for Lily's answer. She nodded and the atmosphere grew less tense. It was obvious that the four boys in the room were waiting to hear, or in this case see, Lily's response.

"Time to go!" piped in Tanya happily.

"Let's get going, then," said Remus ushering them towards the portrait hole. Everyone went ahead and Claire pulled Sirius aside.

"What was that?" she asked suspiciously.

"What was what?" asked Sirius innocently.

"That thing, the conversation you had with James about Lily. What was it?"

"I…I can't tell you. Claire I'm sorry," he said. She turned away form him angrily.

"I told you my deepest secret that not even my two best friends know. Clearly James and Remus know what's going on, along with Lily. I think you should tell me."

"Later, I promise. If they let me, I'll tell you everything that Lily knows."

"Okay," she said sternly. She was going to make sure that he told her. They caught up with everyone else and Sirius went alongside Remus and they began talking in very hushed whispers. James caught on immediately and told Lily.

"Sirius wants to tell Claire," he said softly.

"Why?" asked Lily.

"Don't know, all I know is that he thinks you three should know, Tanya included."

"It would make tomorrow less of a hassle for all five of us, you Marauders and myself."

"True. You sound suspicious."

"Suspicious of Sirius, mostly. I don't like him and Claire being together, you know that."

"Lils, it's what they want, accept it."

"I trust Sirius with my life, you know that, but I don't trust him with my female friends."

"Sirius is better than you think he is, Lils, don't worry, we keep him in check when we know the girl as a friend."

"Okay, but I still want to hear it for myself, from him, what makes him think that he won't dump Claire like the rest of them."

"Whatever, Lils," muttered James as they entered the Entrance Hall.

"What's going on?" asked Tanya when Sirius had moved back with Claire.

"I'll explain later," he said mysteriously. Sirius had moved to James by now.

"What do you think?" he asked Lily and James at once.

"I'm okay with it. We know she won't tell," said James.

"I'm fine with it, but Sirius, I have a question," said Lily.

"Hmm?" he asked, seemingly puzzled.

"I was wondering, what makes you serious about Claire. How do you know that you won't throw her out like yesterday's dirty socks and just move on?"

"Lily…I…I can't justify what I've done for the past three or so years, but Claire is different. If you haven't noticed, I haven't even kissed her yet. Claire is perfect…perfect for me, perfect for anyone. I don't want to freak her out and so I'm moved especially slow. We've been dating for a month, remember that."

"I want a reason."

"You want a reason? Here, Claire is the most amazing girl I've ever met. Since third year, I've had a crush on her and there's nothing that can change how I feel about her. She is the realization of the perfect girl for me, and it's not me judging a book by the cover. Lily I like her, cover, spine, back, pages, everything. She is so different from the other girls, so deep, so kind, so thoughtful. She's been through unimaginable things. Is that reason enough?" Lily was moved by this stirring speech. Never had she seen Sirius get angry with her for assuming something.

"Sirius…I'm sorry, I believe you."

"Thanks, Lily, and don't worry about it. Considering my history, I understand."

"Go talk to her. We'll tell her and Tanya when we get back tonight."

"Thanks." Sirius waited up for Claire who was in front of Peter. They made it to Hogsmeade and the seven of them spent the day together. When it came time that they had only an hour left, the split up, the girls going in one direction, the boys another. When the girls found a dress robe store that looked promising, they looked around.

"Okay, Claire, I think you should be a Siren. Merlin's beard, look, it's perfect. Go try it on!" Lily grabbed a short dress off a hanger and handed it to Claire. Claire took it into one of the dressing rooms and tried it on. It was a short dress in the front, but the further back it went, it spanned out and became more intricate. It was a vibrant sky blue made with a material that made it glitter. (If you wanna see the dress, click the link in my profile for my homepage and then go to the page for this story called My Marauders' Story and the links for her dress, mask and the dresses and masks and wings of all other characters will be there. After Claire had it on and ready, she stepped out of the dressing room. Lily and Tanya examined the dress closely, making sure it fit the occasion, and decided that it was perfect. Claire even loved it. She was just worried about the bruises being a problem though. She hoped Sirius's spell would work at the ball too. They grabbed a mask that matched the color of the dress and had her put it on to see if it would match, which, to their great joy, it did.

"So, Tanya," began Claire after emerging form the changing room in her normal clothes. "What did you have in mind?"

"Don't know…you said something earthy, maybe a nymph of some kind, but is that really a good idea. Don't they dress a little bit…showy?"

"I think it's a great idea," said Claire, moving through robes racks faster than anything. "Here," she said, handing her a costume. "It's not that showy at all." Claire handed her a dress that was an earth green with an uneven bottom hem. It wasn't too short either. Lily grabbed a mask off the counter and thrust it under the door to the changing room. Tanya emerged from the dressing room, her tan even more vibrant than usual.

"Well?" she asked.

"You look amazing, Tanya, absolutely amazing," said Claire with a smile.

"Yeah, what she said," breathed Lily. Tanya went back into the dressing room and changed back into her clothes.

"Your turn, Lily," said Claire, steering her towards a chair. Lily hated clothes shopping for herself. "I am thinking something along the lines of a phoenix. Here, this mask is perfect." Claire had picked a mask up off the counter and handed it to Lily. Lily strapped it o her face and looked around. It was okay. Tanya handed her a mirror and Lily looked at herself. It did go well with her hair, but there was still the question of a dress. Tanya grabbed a red, full-length dress off of a hanger and handed it to Lily.

"Try this one," she said, ushering her towards a changing room. Lily put on the dress and came out. It was perfect. It fit to her every curve and had the appearance of fire. (I am making a few alterations to this dress from the one in the picture on my homepage). The long, silk ruffles in the front were fading from red to orange to yellow form the outside into the middle of the ruffle (Just the ruffles down the middle, not the dress, okay). Tanya made a move to grab something else off of the shelf, but Lily caught her.

"I like the dress, but what are those?" she asked, indicating something in Tanya's hand.

"Nothing," she lied.

"I am not wearing wings," said Lily sternly.

"Oh yes you are," said Claire. "Tanya may not be stronger than you, but I am. Now put out your arms. Lily reluctantly held out her arms while Claire strapped something to her arms. When she backed away, Lily had on a pair of wings that moved with her arms. They began red and faded from red to orange to yellow and had a feathery design to them. Lily had to admit that they weren't half bad, but she still didn't want to wear them. (The basis for the design of the wings, like how they are attached to the arms comes form a site with a link from my homepage, not myspace - just the idea, not colors or designs. Also, they aren't one piece like the one in the picture, they are two wings.)

"You have to be kidding," she said angrily.

"No. If you don't wear these, you won't look like a phoenix, but some fire spirit or something. You need the wings," said Tanya.

"Fine, but if I have to wear wings, then so do you, Tanya," said Lily, looking around the store for some nymph wings. She grabbed them and handed them to Tanya.

"Fine," agreed Tanya. "We'll both wear wings then. What punishment do we have to give Claire though. Her costume is foolproof."

"I've got it," said Lily. "Blue streaks in her hair." Claire backed away. She prized her hair more than any other part of her body. "Don't worry, they'll only be temporary. Muggles use it all the time. You'll be fine."

Lily walked up to the counter after changing back into her normal clothes.

"Hi, do you have temporary hair coloring. We want to give our friend here some blue streaks in her hair for the Halloween Ball."

"Sure," said the witch at the counter. She reached down and pulled a small bottle out of the cabinet and placed it on the counter. "Anything else dear?" she asked. Lily placed her things on the top of the counter, wings included, and paid for them. Then Claire paid for everything she got, including the highlights, and then Tanya followed. They went to the three Broomsticks, the designated meeting spot, and waited for the boys. They weren't surprised that the boys were only about five minutes later than they were.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, we did," said Claire happily. "I cannot wait for you to see me."

"I can't wait to see you," said Sirius playfully.

"We had a change of plan when we got to the store and saw how many awesome costumes they had."

"Well, let's hope you guys did as well as we did," said Lily with a grin.

"I think we'll manage. Now let's get something to drink," suggested James.

They had their Butterbeers and then headed off to go with the group back to Hogwarts.

* * *

A/N: I bet you hate me now! Ha ha, the boys' costumes are a surprise now! You can yell at me if you want to. So, by now you know the drill…I hope. Bet you can't wait for the ball. I'll see if I can get two more chapters in before I leave. So that we get Tanya and Claire knowing the secret and also the ball, good deal? Make sure you look at those dresses and wings and masks on my homepage! 


	13. Questions Answered

A/N: Please tell me you looked at my pictures, and to those who did, THANK YOU! It took me forever to find dresses to match what I wanted them to look like. So, thanks for looking at them. Reviewers, readers, people who put me as their favorite either story or author, ya'll all are awesome! So, let's continue.

* * *

"Where are we going?" asked Tanya frantically. She had noticed quickly that they were heading in the opposite direction of the carriages and towards Honeydukes. 

"We're taking a shortcut," said Remus jokingly.

"What kind of shortcut?" asked Claire warily.

"The fun kind," joked Sirius.

"Follow me," said James, grabbing Lily's hand. They followed James into the Honeydukes cellar and down through the trapdoor. Sirius and Claire went first, followed by Tanya and then Lily. After Lily were James, Remus, and Peter.

"What is going on here?" asked Claire, pushing her hair over her shoulder.

"This has a lit to do with what we're telling you two about tonight," said Sirius.

"I don't understand," said Claire in a perplexed voice.

"You'll see now just keep going." They went in silence for what seemed like forever. When they emerged from the witch statue, Claire and Tanya looked amazed.

"Are we…are we back at school?" Tanya asked, confounded.

"Yeah," said Lily. "Isn't it amazing?"

"You're joking right? I knew there were secrets to this school, but I had no idea…no idea that some led to Hogwarts," said Claire.

"There are others, too," said James. "We mainly just use two of them though."

"Which two?" asked Claire. "Where's the other one?"

"It is under the Whomping Willow and leads to the Shrieking Shack," answered Remus.

"That Shrieking Shack? You mean that haunted place in Hogsmeade?" asked Tanya, growing anxious. They had begun to walk back to the common room by now.

"It's not really haunted, not by ghosts at least," said James with a smile.

"What do you mean?" asked Claire.

"Not here, we'll explain back at the common room, unless you can find an empty classroom nearby," said Sirius.

"Yeah, right here," answered Claire, grabbing Sirius's shirt and pulling him into the vacant classroom. The others laughed and followed, closing the door behind and locking it. "Now, Sirius, what's going on?"

"Allow us five who know the secret to explain," said Sirius, indicating the Marauders and Lily.

"Five?" asked Tanya, looking at Lily harshly.

"I wasn't allowed to tell," she answered timidly. Sirius looked back to Tanya and Claire.

"I am sure that you two aren't so thick as you don't realize that Moony here gets sick every month," he said jokingly. "Well, have you noticed that every time he gets sick it's a full moon?"

"No, not really, but continue," said Tanya.

"Remus is…Remus is a werewolf," finished Lily bluntly.

"Every full moon, Pompfrey sneaks him form the castle, using the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and sends him to the Shrieking Shack. There, he can transform without hurting anyone. You follow?" asked James. They both nodded.

"Being the dear friends that these three are, they knew that I wasn't truly getting sick. I would always come back covered in scratches and bruises. When I transformed, I would try to get out, and that would give me bruising, and, with no one to bite and scratch, I took my anger out on myself. And one night in their third year, they followed me and stumbled in one me mid-transformation. Needless for me to say that they ran for it."

"We wanted to help him," continued James. "We approached him with our concerns and he disapproved. He said that there was no way for us to get near him while human. We worried about the fact that he would end up hurting himself, or someone else if he eventually got out. The Shrieking Shack got its name form the loud howls and yelps he would emit from the physical and emotional pain of being locked up. Dumbledore, of course, made no attempt to correct the rumor. He didn't want Moony kicked out of school because parents didn't want their kids around him."

"After a few days of thinking, we finally came up with a plan. First of all, we had to find a way for no one to notice us. Even with the invisibility cloak, it can be difficult to stay hidden and undetected. So, we created this," said Sirius, producing the map from his jacket pocket. "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_ Tanya and Claire saw the lines spider web from the place that the wand touched. The dots appeared a few seconds later.

"Is that really?" Claire asked, pointing to the dot for McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall, asleep, in her office? Yes," answered Sirius.

"It shows everyone the holder wants it to show, especially teachers and the four of us. Lily was added when we made it too," said Remus. Then he pointed to the Whomping Willow. "That is the tunnel we take from the castle."

"We?" asked Claire.

"Oh, yes, there is still that matter to explain," he responded contemplatively.

"Well?" urged Tanya, looking from one Marauder to the next.

"The only way we could be safe from Moony while he was a werewolf was to become animals," said James.

"You transfigured each other?" asked Tanya disbelievingly. "That's higher than NEWT level." Lily shook her head.

"No, they did something higher than Ministry level," she said with a laugh.

"You're kidding," responded the two girls at the same time.

"Animagi," breathed Claire. "But how. It cannot be done by third years. It is impossible, Sirius."

"Not impossible, because we did it," he replied, taking her hand.

"So, does this have something to do with the nicknames?" asked Tanya.

"It has everything to do with the nicknames," replied James. "Remus's is obvious, Moony, the full moon changes him, remember. Mine is Prongs, Peter's is Wormtail, and Sirius's is Padfoot."

"So, this is the animal you chose then?" asked Tanya, being the smarter, and catching on faster than Claire. "Let me guess…" began Tanya. "Peter is a rat, a rat's tail looks like a worm, so it would only make sense. You, James, are a deer or a moose or caribou or something along those lines. After all, prongs are antlers, so it has to be a creature with antlers. Padfoot's is a little more puzzling. Many mammals have pads on their feet. So, he's probably a dog, cat, wolf, something like that."

"Tanya, you are a genius," said Remus in disbelief.

"We needed Peter for the lookout and to prod the knot at the base of the Willow's trunk that immobilizes it for a few seconds, giving us time to get into the tunnel. Sirius and I needed to be big enough animals that we could keep a werewolf form killing himself and from killing us. We needed to keep him in check, no offense Moony," continued James.

"None taken, Prongs," said Moony from the wall he was leaning against.

"So, I took the form of a stag and Sirius, a very, very large dog."

"Could…could they see, James?" asked Lily, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes.

"Of course," said James kissing the top of her head. "Wormtail, you can go first." Tanya and Claire turned their heads to where Peter had been, and a rat was sitting on the top of the nearest desk, sniffing the air nervously.

"Amazing," breathed Claire. Peter turned back and scrambled off the top of the desk noisily. "Let's see the stag," she said enthusiastically. James had turned into the stag next to Lily. This was only the second time Lily had seen him like this, and it still took her breath away. She rubbed his nose, feeling his warm breath on her hand, and then he turned back to normal, running his fingers through his messy hair.

"That's so awesome," said Tanya.

"Sirius," Claire turned to him with a pleading look.

"Obviously I'll show you, stop that whimpering." Claire turned looked down to where her boyfriend had been. A large shaggy black dog was looking up at her with a puppy-dog face. Claire couldn't resist; it was just too cute. She leaned down and petted him, scratching behind his ears and, finally, rubbing his belly. When Sirius sat back up and raised one paw in the air as though waving to her, she bent down and kissed his muzzle. Then, Sirius transformed back to human, kissing Claire back for a few seconds. To them, it felt like they were the only two in the room. When he released her form the embrace, all too soon, she blushed.

"That was amazing," she said, looking up at him.

"Yeah, you're a pretty good kisser too," he replied playfully. She punched him on the arm lightly and he laughed. "What was that for?" he asked, surprised by her reaction.

"I meant the animagus thing," she said.

"I know," he rejoined with a grin.

"Now, back to the map, if it is right, which it always is, Snivellus is heading this way. We should get going," said James with a grin. "_Mischief Managed_," he said, and the map went blank immediately. They opened the door to the classroom, making sure the coast was clear, and stepping out. They shut the door behind them and began to walk towards the common room. Snape turned the corner, walking towards them.

"So, Snivellus, how are your friends, you know, the ones who almost sent Lily to St. Mungo's," asked Sirius scornfully.

"Blood-traitors, Mudblood, half-blood," said Snape, passing by, pretending not to notice Sirius.

"Okay, ugly, whatever, ignore us. Tell your friends, though, that we'll be watching them," said James, continuing to walk. He had attempted to go after Snape for the comments he made, but Lily's hand made him stop. She was holding his arm and her grip was firm If James tried to shake her off, he would hurt her. They decided to just move on. Sirius glared at Snape one more time before turning back to Claire and walking in the direction of the common room.

"Oh yeah," whispered Sirius into Claire's ear. "The next full moon is tomorrow night. We'll leave you three the map so you can watch. James!"

"Huh?" asked James, turning to face Sirius.

"Are we letting him out?"

"Doubt it, but it depends on his attitude this time. How do you think it'll be, Moony?"

"I think that if I don't get out soon, I might hurt one of you even worse than last time. I think the wolf wants to hunt this time," he replied in an unhappy whisper.

"Okay, we have to then. We can't risk ourselves getting bitten, even in animal form, it could be fatal," said Sirius in a whisper.

They made it back to the common room and talked for a while about where they would take Remus. After a while, it was decided on the forest, deep in the forest so that he couldn't get near the school or Hogsmeade.

When the next day finally came, it was easier on Lily. Remus was more irritable than usual, but none of them minded much. Madam Pompfrey came to the common room at about five and asked Remus down to her office for some help with decorating. These excuses were getting overplayed enough to make Sirius and James and Peter sick. James kissed Lily goodbye and Sirius kissed Claire goodbye, and they left the map behind and headed out a few minutes later. Lily muttered the spell to make the map work and sat in the girls' dormitory, the three girls all sitting on Claire's bed. They knew that the boys were already in the Shrieking Shack and Lily knew she wouldn't see them. Claire and Tanya, on the other hand were extremely anxious.

"Where are they?" asked Claire nervously. A few words appeared in the corner of the page.

_Mr. Padfoot would like to advise the lady to get up off her behind and look for them herself._

Claire gasped and Tanya giggled.

"Lily, did that map…does it listen to people talk, I mean…what just happened?" asked Claire, flabbergasted.

"It does that sometimes," replied Lily. "Watch this. Does Mr. Prongs love Ms. Evans?"

_Mr. Prongs would like to tell the red-haired lady that he loves her very much._

_Mr. Padfoot would like to include that he adores the blonde one._

_Mr. Moony would like to slap Messrs Padfoot and Prongs on the head for being such love-struck teenagers._

_Mr. Wormtail does not approve of violence and advises his friends to knock it off!_

_Mr. Prongs has just popped Mr. Wormtail on the head._

_Mr. Moony would like his friends to shut their huge mouths._

_Mr. Prongs agrees and is done speaking._

_Mr. Padfoot says he agrees with the other two._

_Mr. Wormtail would like to acknowledge that his comrades are insane, but also agrees._

The map wasblank again. Claire and Tanya were laughing hysterically. The rest of the night, to pass the time, they had conversations with the map, asking the deepest secrets of the owners; to the girls' dismay, the map would reveal nothing. When everyone had left the common room, the girls trudged back down the stairs and sat in the chairs, waiting for their friends. Tanya continuously looked at the clock, Claire looked to the map, watching the dots silently move through the forest, and Lily stared at the portrait hole. Finally, at dawn, Sirius, Peter, and James clambered through the portrait hole awkwardly. A few scratches dotted Sirius's face, but there was a large gash on his arm and he was holding it strangely.

"Sirius, are you okay?" asked Claire anxiously.

"I've had worse," he shrugged. Claire noticed him wince every time he moved his arm. Lily climbed the stairs to her dormitory and grabbed the infection cream from the first-aid kit. She handed it to Sirius who put it on his arm and pulled out his wand. "Ferula," he muttered, and bandages wrapped themselves around his arm, coming from the tip of his wand. After a few minutes or hours, no one really knew, they bade each other goodnight, and climbed the staircase to their dormitories. Once again, they all laid awake that night, trying to think about what they had told everyone that day, or what they had found out.

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A/N: Okay, the next chapter is the ball, finally, I know. I am leaving tonight, so, until Monday, there will be no updates…okay? I am so, so, so, so sorry. I love hearing form you guys and while I'm in the mountains, I won't hear form anyone, and you guys won't know what I'm thinking, will you? 


	14. The Ball

A/N: Reviewers, you all rock, um…people who have me as a favorite either story or author, you know that you guys are amazing. Um, for the record, I don't own anyone but the people you don't recognize, etc, etc. So, let's get a move on to the ball.

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The following week passed in a blur. The boys kept trying to find out ways to get the girls to tell them their costumes. They tried to spike drinks with truth serums behind their backs, but were always caught. Claire had begun teaching Sirius how to dance, and he was progressing quickly. Lily, James, Remus, Peter, and Tanya weren't allowed to watch, Sirius made sure of it. Claire and Sirius became closer everyday. James kept on commenting on how this was probably the longest relationship Sirius has ever had. Lily and James were still inseparable. Though the girls didn't admit it, they were really anxious to find out what costumes the boys had thought up. Lily and James came to Dumbledore one night to offer their input on the music.

The day of the ball finally arrived. Claire was convinced that Sirius was ready for it, and asked him to help her with the whole bruises problem.

"Just use the spell, you remember the words right?"

"Yeah, but I don't know exactly how it works. This dress shows a lot of my arms, and quite a bit of my legs, not to mention my shoulders."

"I like this dress already," said Sirius, a playful smile creasing his lips. It was about three hours before the dance when Sirius cast the spell that hid her bruises. When Claire finally got away from Sirius's watchful eye (about an hour before the dance), she found Lily and Tanya waiting for her in the common room. The three of them went up to their dormitory and began getting ready. Lily put the blue highlights in Claire's hair, seeing as Claire didn't understand how they worked and Tanya was clumsy enough to drop the whole bottle on her hair. When the highlights were finished, they took turns fixing each other's hair and doing each other's make up. Lily wore makeup that was colored like fire, mostly reds, yellows, and oranges. Claire wore silvers, greens, and blues, and a lot of pastel colors. Tanya had on a lot of earthy tones, browns and greens. Then, they put on their costumes, and examined each other closely.

"I think we look hot," said Claire with a grin, happy that, once again, none of her bruises were showing up.

"I agree," said Lily happily, touching up her mask with care, hoping not to damage any of the feathers. "Are we ready, you think?"

"I think so. Lily, help me with my wings, please," requested Tanya. Lily grabbed them off of a bed and strapped them gingerly to Tanya's back. Then, she grabbed her own, fire-colored wings, and strapped them onto her arms with some help from the other two. Surprisingly, they didn't limit her movement at all, but made her feel freer. They climbed down the common room stairs and made their way to the Entrance Hall, running into other people along the way, already dressed and ready. They were at the steps to the Entrance Hall, and Tanya poked her head around the corner to see if the boys were waiting at the bottom. They were, and Tanya couldn't believe how they came dressed. It seemed as though each of them picked a period in history. Sirius was almost the perfect match for Claire, a pirate. How did they do that kind of stuff? They just thought alike. Remus was dressed as a person from the late 1700s, and James was a black knight or possibly a king.

Tanya walked down the staircase first and Remus escorted her into the Great Hall. Claire appeared at the stairs and Sirius's jaw hit the floor. He had never seen Claire in anything but the school robes or long sleeves. To him, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Claire laughed internally at his costume. She didn't know why, but somehow she felt like they had some kind of connection. She knew that thought alike. When she reached the bottom of the staircase, Sirius's mouth was still hanging open. She tapped the bottom of his jaw with her hand and he closed his mouth.

"Claire, I…you look…I mean, well, you look…wow!" he said, at a loss for the right word to describe the embodiment of his version of a goddess.

"Thanks," she said with a giggle. Then, Lily emerged from around the corner. Sirius stared, James gasped, Claire laughed. "You know, she was willing to fight us about those wings. She really didn't want to wear them."

"I'm glad you made her," said James, now staring at Lily form the bottom of the staircase. "She looks amazing." When Lily reached the bottom stair, James grabbed her hand.

"Well?" she asked, completely unsure of herself.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked, breathless.

"Not for about an hour," she laughed.

"I love you," he said, kissing her for a few seconds before escorting her into the Great Hall. Everyone was standing in a circle around a couple twirling gracefully around, almost perfect. James and Lily laughed when they realized just who it was: Remus and Tanya. Claire and Sirius appeared behind them.

"I had no idea that Remus was that good of a dancer," said Lily, laughing to herself.

"We had no idea that Tanya was that good," said Sirius.

"Her mum owns a dance studio," said Claire matter-of-factly.

"Really? I thought she was clumsy," said James, watching them twirl gracefully.

"Everything but dancing," said Lily with another laugh.

"Come on," said Sirius, pulling Claire into the open space. "A perfect opportunity for me to show you off." Claire laughed, but agreed. Sirius held her very close and was spinning her every so often.

"You really have gotten goon," she admitted with a smile.

"I had a great teacher," joked Sirius. James and Lily followed them, the crowd very interested in this couple. Only the Gryffindors and the Slytherins who attacked Lily knew they were couple. People didn't tend to watch across the Great Hall at mealtimes. James was dancing better than Lily could've imagined him capable of. How were these guys, these guys who were only deep when their friends weren't around, so good at everything including things that most men wouldn't admit to being good at.

"You were right, you can dance, James," said Lily, blushing. Her heart was pounding, her blood racing, just like every time she was with James. Only this time, she could hear his heart beating fast too. He was holding her very close.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"I don't know," said Lily, smiling up at him.

"Well, you look absolutely gorgeous, and I think you should make yourself excruciatingly beautiful more often. If you have to wear clothes like this to classes, I make no objection." Lily laughed and smiled again, blushing slightly. "Plus, a phoenix is my favorite creature.

"Really?" asked Lily, slightly thrown off. She expected it to be something large and extremely dangerous, something like a dragon or a hippogriff, or some omen. Maybe something that he could use in a prank, like a niffler to put in someone's house so the house would be ripped to pieces in the creature's attempt to find something shiny.

"Yeah, you know why?"

"Why?"

Because it's what you are tonight. If you were dressed, God forbid, as a dragon, it would be my favorite." Lily blushed and looked up at the ceiling. The stars were out again, and the atmosphere changed. They were the only people in the room, the only people dancing, and they were on cloud nine. It was the most perfect place in the whole world for the two of them. The song became a slow dance.

"Sirius," began Claire, pushing out the rest of the people in the room as well.

"Yes, my darling Siren?" he asked playfully.

"I want to thank you again for the spell, it…it's really useful. It is pretty much a savior for me," she replied thoughtfully, Small tears appearing in her eyes, clinging to her lashes and a single one rolling down her cheek. Sirius pressed his finger to her cheek and lifting the tear away, flicking it onto the ground.

"It is absolutely no trouble. Claire, please don't cry. Tonight is a night to be yourself. It's Halloween, one of the most amazing holidays in our world. Enjoy it," he said softly, kissing her on the top of her head. He had to stand on his tiptoes to do it because of Claire's figure. She was only about three inches shorter than he was. "Just be yourself, tonight, Claire."

"Okay," she said softly, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder. Dumbledore approached the podium and began speaking. There were a few laughs when they noticed that he was dressed as Santa Claus. Everyone knew that the beard was a perfect match for it.

"Well, I hope you have had fun dancing to the classics, but, due to the pressure of our Head Boy and Girl," he smiled, indicating Lily and James slow dancing, her head resting on his stone chest. When a circle formed around them, Lily lifted her head, blushing, and backed off so that their arms were fully extended. They laughed at themselves for it. "We have a surprise for you, students." Out of nowhere, a large stage appeared and on it, was a rock band. Sirius gaped, James laughed and Lily smiled. Claire and Tanya stared in amazement. It wasn't a ball anymore; it was a Halloween party. The band began playing loud music (think of the band that they had in the movie for Goblet of Fire, and that's a bit what I'm basing it on). They began jumping around, dancing more wildly to the music. The boys were twirling the girls with ease and very fast. By the time they were tired out, they came to sit at one of the small tables.

"This is so much fun. How did you convince Dumbledore to do this?" asked Claire, laughing.

"Don't know, but he agreed rather quickly. It was pretty funny actually. We just told him what we'd like better and he said it was fine as long as we found the music. We had already done that a long time ago. The band we booked is amazing, huh?" asked the smiling Lily.

"No kidding, Lils, you did an amazing job with this, you too James," said Tanya.

"Hey, we're gonna go get some punch, you guys want something?" asked Sirius, standing up.

"Punch sounds great," said Claire. She looked thirsty, and so did the rest of them. The dance turned out to be amazing, and when it finally ended, they all agreed that it was way too early. It was absolute perfection. When they made it back to the common room, all three of the girls were stopped from climbing the stairs to their dormitories.

"I love you," whispered Sirius into Claire's ear. She smiled and blushed. Then, she kissed him for a few seconds and back away.

"I love you too, see you in the morning." She escaped up the stairs, butterflies batting noisily in her stomach.

"What's wrong, Remus?" asked Tanya.

"I should've done this a long time ago, Tanya. He pulled her in and kissed her, but, although surprised, she didn't object in the least bit. When he finally let go, she also escaped up to her dorm in a flush.

"Goodnight, Lils, I love you more than anything," said James as he kissed her goodnight.

"You know by now that the feeling's mutual," she said, and they all went up to their dorms and stayed up all night talking about everything that had happened.

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A/N: Alright, I'm running out of time, so here goes, read, review, can't wait to post up like eight chapters when I get back, don't miss me too much! 


	15. Waiting

A/N: Alright, seeing as I'm writing this while I'm in New Mexico, I thought I'd tell you a bit about each of my days' adventures. The flight was fine, I can't say it was great because I hate planes; they give me a headache and my ears and throat always hurt. After the flight into Albuquerque we drove three hours up into the mountains of Angel Fire, NM and it was so so so pretty. So, it is about the middle of the night as I'm writing this, so, let's continue with our story, shall we?

In the midst of all the excitement from the previous night, no one got more than a few hours of sleep. Peter, who didn't even bother going to the ball, was the only one who didn't wake up sore and tired like everyone else. Everyone woke up very early that Sunday morning, not having been able to fall back to sleep when the sun filtered through their dormitory windows.

Lily, being the first awake, stumbled awkwardly down the stairs after showering and dressing. As she stumbled across the room, having about as much balance as hippo on a tightrope, she almost fell right over, but a helpful hand caught her right before she hit the ground. James had been awake this whole time too. She looked up at him and smiled as best as she could, the haziness in her brain becoming even more unbearable with him holding her.

"Good morning," she said drowsily.

"What's good about it?" James asked, helping to steady her.

"I'm with you, that's what," she whispered, sitting down on the couch. James sat down next to her and stroked her dark red hair, he head resting against his chest, while she fought sleep. James kissed her on the top of the head after about ten minutes; realizing she was asleep, he drifted off too.

Sirius fumbled down about an hour later, and Claire was asleep in one of the chairs, still wearing her pajamas. He walked over to her and shook her shoulder, but she didn't wake up.

"Claire," he whispered, shaking her again; nothing. Sirius kept trying to wake her over and over again for about ten minutes before calling for Tanya and Remus. They rushed down the stairs, almost running into each other. "I-I t-tried to wake her, b-but she won't m-move. I c-can feel a pulse and hear a heart b-beat, but shy isn't she waking?" explained Sirius frantically. Tanya walked over to Claire and looked over her once. Something was different about her, she had purplish shadows under her eyes, almost bruise-like shadows. She was paler than they had ever seen her before. Tanya knew exactly what was wrong now.

"LILY!" she shouted. Lily woke up immediately and saw Claire; she stifled a scream. She ran to Claire's side and picked up her hand, trying to find a pulse. She found it, but it was incredibly weak. Sirius, seeing the reacting of the two girls was no longer frightened, but staggered and more worried than anyone had ever seen him.

"James, go with Remus, send an owl to Claire's mother, NOW!" yelled Lily urgently. James and Remus bolted form the common room and up to the owlery, hoping more than anything that someone had a quill and parchment with them or someone had dropped them up there last time.

"Sirius, we have to take her to the hospital, now," explained Tanya, the urgency in her voice, but not as panicky as it was in Lily's. Sirius nodded solemnly and scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. He carried her all the way to the hospital wing and Lily and Tanya held her hands. When, after the longest five minutes of any of their lives, they made it to the ward, Lily knocked on the door with her free hand.

"What's this?" asked Madam Pompfrey, shock coloring every word.

"We found her in the common room this morning, but she wouldn't wake up. I have no idea what to do with her, something is definitely wrong with her, and I'm not really sure what it is," explained Sirius, trying to be as calm as possible.

"Bring her here, bring her here, Mr. Black," said Madam Pompfrey, ushering them into the room. Sirius laid her down on a cot and backed away, then, kneeling down, he grabbed her hand and held it in his own. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, dear, dear. I am very sorry, Mr. Black, but, it seems that someone was attempting to poison Ms. Martin, or she got the wrong glass from someone. I'll need to run a few tests, and someone get Professor Slughorn!"

"I'll do it, Madam Pompfrey," volunteered Lily, bolting from the room to find their potions master. She banged loudly on his office door, panting heavily.

"Ah, Lily m'dear, how can I be of service?" he asked under his thick, bushy, moustache. "Something wrong?" he asked when Lily looked up, tears streaming down her face.

"C-Claire, she's b-been p-poi-poisoned, p-professor, y-you h-have t-to-to h-he-help, panted Lily in between hiccoughs.

"Well, m'dear, I think that's the least I can do for my favorite student, but that's just between you and me, now, understand. She in the hospital wing?" Lily nodded and they were off, running down the corridor, having to stop so that Slughorn could catch his breath, being as old and overweight as he was. When they burst through the ward doors, Madam Pompfrey was bent over Claire's unconscious form.

"What's the verdict, Poppy?" asked Slughorn casually.

"I am not sure…I've never seen a potion like this, it's incredible. It will place her in this suspended animation-like state until it kills her slowly and painfully by forcing her to relive her worst memories inside her head. She will die of grief, a very, sad, and painful death."

"Seems like someone took a draught of living death and added some strange ingredients, making this strange poison here. What ingredients have you been able to see?"

"Well, some Wolfsbane, monkshood, asphodel, sopophorus bean, valerian root, and some strange ingredients that I've never seen before, and when I brewed these unknown ones together, it created a emerald-greenish potion, which I tested. It will cause fear, hallucinations, and, eventually, death. I've never seen a more complicated option than this other than Felix."

"Sounds exactly like draught of living death mixed with strange poisons. I will do all that IU can to find an antidote, but, seeing as you cannot treat her whilst she's asleep, it is probably safe to say that the girl is going to die."

"NO!" bellowed Sirius.

"Mr. Black, I didn't see you there, why are you holding Ms. Martin's hand, and why are you shouting at me?" asked Slughorn.

"You have to think of some way to wake her, any possible way. The draught may last forever, but there has to be a potion to counteract it."

"That much potion in one girl could kill her of an overdose, and, not to mention, we don't know how the poison will react to another potion being added to the bloodstream."

"Professor, you must think of something, sir. Please, you have to save her." Tears were beginning to form in the corners of Sirius's eyes, and Lily and Tanya were crying freely now. James and Remus came in a few seconds later and Lily turned to him, burying her head in his chest and crying. James held her tightly, close to him, rubbing her back to try and calm her. Remus was holding Tanya's hand and was wiping away her tears with his other, whispering hopeful things to her about how Claire was going to make it.

"Mr. Black, Lily, Tanya, Mr. Potter, I will do whatever I can, whatever I can, but I can make no promises."

"Send her to St. Mungo's then. Do anything that will save her," Sirius shouted.

"I'm afraid they'll tell you the exact same thing, but we will send an owl to them asking their advice." Slughorn left the ward, muttering to himself about expectations and rudeness and yelling. Sirius looked hopefully at Madam Pompfrey.

"I'm afraid he's right, unless the person who has poisoned her comes forth and gives us the antidote, it is likely she will die," said Madam Pompfrey in a morbid tone, going over Claire's chart repeatedly. Peter showed up a little after lunch, seeing as someone had heard the news from professor Slughorn and now it was all over the school.

"I heard about Claire, is she going to be okay?" asked Peter in a squeaky voice.

"Look at her, Wormtail, does it look like she's gonna be okay?" asked Sirius irritably.

"Sorry, Padfoot," muttered Peter, going to sit down in a chair. All of them stayed overnight; the prefects, once again, taking over the Head Boy and Girl's jobs. When Monday rolled around, they had a schedule planned out. Tanya and Remus would take Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic, while James and Lily went to potions, charms, and transfiguration. Peter tagged along with whomever he felt like, not being an expert at any of the classes. So, they could copy notes for each other and bring them back to the hospital, someone would always be with Sirius and Claire. The schedule worked to each of their advantage, always using their knowledge to ask the professors for any advice on how to help Claire. Remus repeatedly asked the Defense Teacher if there was some spell to remove a poison or to wake someone up, but to no avail. Lily stayed after class to check Slughorn's progress every single day, and James asked Professor Flitwick if there was any way to charm a potion out of someone. None of the teachers were of any help to them, and when the owl arrived from St. Mungo's, there was a small shred of hope. There was an incantation written on the card that would help to wake her up, but only if Claire truly wanted her mind to break through this barrier created by the potion, could she actually awaken. Madam Pompfrey asked all of the teachers' opinions before trying the incantation. All of them agreed that trying St. Mungo's tactic would be best for her, even if Claire's mind was giving up already.

By the end of the week, hopes had begun to rise for Claire, and Madam Pompfrey was set on her plan to use the advice of the healers to help Claire. When Madam Pompfrey sad the spell over Claire's unconscious form, everyone held their breath. Claire's left eye tightened, and then she rolled over on the cot. Sirius couldn't help himself, he shook her arm and she rolled back over, her face just inches from his. Her eyes opened and she blinked once, twice, and then smiled softly.

"Good morning," said Sirius softly.

"Good morning," she replied. Then, all of the sudden, Claire rolled back onto her backside and clutched the sheets and began screaming. "Stop, Stop, STOP! Leave her alone! Father, STOP! NOW! Don't hit me, please, stop." And then she began crying and curled up into a ball on the bed, weeping madly before falling back to sleep. Sirius, who had thought that Claire was back with him, tried to hide the one, single tear rolling down his cheek. He gazed questioningly at Madam Pompfrey.

"It's the poison, she's reliving her worst memories," explained the nurse. "I wonder what she was screaming about though." Sirius knew immediately, but thought it best not to betray Claire's trust.

"Sirius, you know something, I can tell," said Lily softly, bending down next to him and touching Claire's pale fingers. "Something about this memory, no doubt, please, let us hear, maybe we can help."

"I…I'm sorry Lily…I can't tell you. Claire made me swear," he replied, not taking his eyes from her shivering form as she murmured in her sleep so softly that you had no idea what she was saying.

"I…I understand, Sirius," said Lily, getting back and back into James's waiting arms. The people sitting in the hospital ward had cried more than many could think possible. Lily and Tanya had lost the ability to cry, their tear ducts too dry to have any liquid left in them, so they only sobbed and hiccoughed uncontrollably. James would cry, but would never dray attention to it, and so most of them never noticed. Remus didn't shed a tear outwardly, but inside he was suffering. Peter cried like a baby, and no one quite understood why he would fake something like that. Sirius, on the other hand, was a combination of Remus and James. He had a war going on inside his heart. Eventually, the suffering inside of him would be strong enough to release a tear, but it was a rare occasion. No one had picked up on the fact that Sirius hadn't eaten a real meal in a week and he was slowly becoming skinnier and skinnier due to only eating small portions big enough for a cat maybe. Speaking of cats, Moonstone was watching everything the entire time. She sat, silently, on the windowsill without making any noise, save the light swishing of her tail. Some nights, she would sneak away and come back with a rat in her teeth, hoping for some kind of reward.

A/N: So, another cliffhanger (hides under desk) please don't throw anything at me, I'll have the next chapter up first thing in the morning, but, just to let y'all know, I start school on Wednesday, so don't expect updats everyday after that. It could come down to three a week, maybe two...sorry. You know what to do by now I hope!


	16. Help

A/N: Alrighty, reviewers, people who read this in general, thanks a ton guys! So, sorry about the new cliffhanger, I'm about to explain everything, so don't hurt me.

Professor Slughorn was sitting in his office eating chocolate doughnuts when a small black cat leapt onto his desk and began meowing at him as though trying to tell him something. Professor Slughorn had seen this cat somewhere before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where.

"What's the matter, Kitty?" he asked it. The cat meowed louder, but this time, it sounded menacing. "You look angry," he observed. The fur on the back of the cat's neck bristled and she meowed threateningly again. Then, the cat leapt off the table and walked over to a cauldron, leaping up onto it. The cat was trying to communicate something to the professor.

"I don't know what you are trying to tell me, kitty," explained the teacher. The cat hissed at him. Somehow this cat knew that Professor Slughorn was supposed to be working on an antidote for Claire, and the cat wasn't going to leave him alone until he made it. The cat meowed another threat and then jumped up into the rafters and down onto a shelf, picking up a small vial in her teeth and hopping back down onto the teacher's desk. Slughorn took the vial from the cat and looked at the label:

_Antidote_.

The professor knew the cat now, it was Lily's cat, and it was telling him to get a move on so that Claire could be saved. The teacher moved to a cauldron and began working, making something to counteract the ingredients that Madam Pompfrey had said were in the poison part of the potion. The cat sat on the rafters, watching the professor's every move that day.

_Meanwhile_

Everyone was praying that Professor Slughorn would find some antidote to the potion, but after a week, nothing came. When two weeks had passed and Claire had about five screaming fits each day, Slughorn entered the ward with a small glass vial, Moonstone on his heels, meowing madly at him before leaping into Lily's arms.

"I have something. It won't cancel out the effects completely, and it's not truly an antidote, but it will prolong the effects so that, instead of dying at the end of this month, she will die by the end of the year, and it will be much more peaceful for her. This potion will change her from having these spasms five times a day to only about once a week," he explained, seeing Claire's wide eyes filled with fear and clutching the sheets madly while she whispered to herself quietly. "She will also be free of these hallucinations and she will stop talking to herself."

Sirius debated for a moment, not really knowing what to do. Either way she could still die.

"And there is no way you can make a true antidote?" he asked.

"Not this late, no. It would probably take me a month at the least to make, and by then, she'll be…dead," explained Slughorn.

"Alright, if it's okay with Madam Pompfrey, I think it would be best for Claire to take this potion. It will make whatever life she has left easier for her," said Sirius. He looked hopefully at Madam Pompfrey, who was sitting in a chair, wringing her hands,

"I have never had a more serious case before. And, I agree with Mr. Black. We will give her this potion you have," said the nurse.

"She'll only have to take what's in this bottle, and she'll only have to have this one dose," explained the professor, handing the vial to Madam Pompfrey. Madam Pompfrey uncorked the vial and look to Sirius.

"She's to frightened to take anything from me, but maybe if you could give it to her, maybe you could convince her to take it." Sirius nodded and Pompfrey handed him the vial.

"Claire," he whispered. Claire stopped talking to herself, he wide eyes looked to Sirius now. "Claire, do you want a drink, this drink will make it all better, it will go away, I promise, it will be gone for a while." She nodded and Sirius tipped the vial into her mouth and she drank it, he eyes going wide at first, and then smaller until it was gone and she fell to sleep, no long clutching the sheets, but her grip was relaxed in Sirius's hand.

"Will she be okay?" asked Sirius, looking to Pompfrey.

"I think so, but let's check her pulse," she said. Pompfrey moved around the bed and placed her fingers on Claire's wrist. "Ah, her pulse is back to a normal pace. Professor Slughorn has kept the poison at bay for now. She'll be free to go in a few days, Mr. Black. Bring her here if she has a fit again." The tension Sirius was harboring was relaxed immediately. Claire would be better in a few days. He looked around at all of his friends.

Happy tears streamed down the cheeks of Lily and Tanya. James had a weak smile across his face, and Remus, well, Remus looked solemn, but at the same time, he looked happier than before. Peter was asleep, so no one really knew what his expression was.

Claire rolled over, facing Sirius.

"It's gone. What happened?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Professor Slughorn found a way to keep the poison at bay so that it will help you to live a normal life," he explained. She nodded softly and Sirius bent over her, kissing her forehead. "Just rest now, you've had a trying week."

"Thanks," she sighed, closing her eyes with a weak grin across her face. Sirius still refused to leave the hospital for the next few days, and everyday, Claire became healthier and healthier. After a day, she could sit up on her own, and after two, she was eating solids again. By the end of the week, Claire was walking around the hospital wing. Sirius had fallen asleep in the chair next to her when Madam Pompfrey was examining her for the last time. The two were asleep, but James, Lily, Tanya, and Remus were wide-awake. Madam Pompfrey lifted Claire's arm ad saw the bruises.

"What are these?" she asked in shock.

"Don't know," shrugged Lily.

"I think we should ask her," suggested the nurse.

"But, Madam Pompfrey, she's sleeping, we'll ask her later, okay?"

"Oh, very well. Anyway, she'll be free to go by tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday, correct?"

"Yes, Madam Pompfrey," said Lily, trying not to say something she may regret.

A/N: Sorry about how long it took to update, I know ya'll are probably hating me right now, but hate school cuz that's where the blame should lie. So, the next chapter will be way longer, sorry about how short this one is, but you know, with school starting again and all that, it's tough. So, the next chapter should be out in around thrre days, maybe two if I can start working on it before the weekend...once again, sorry for shortness and lateness.


	17. Emotions

A/N: Sorry about the huge gaps in-between chapters now, but with me in 3 pre-AP classes, you should probably get used to about two chapters a week, sorry guys. Oh, and to anyone who is keeping track, sorry I always forget the disclaimer – Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I own none of the characters you recognize or Hogwarts or anything you have seen in those books, okay? So, let's continue, shall we?

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When Claire entered the Hall at Breakfast with Sirius's hand in hers, all of the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs stood up clapping. She didn't know that everyone knew about the poison, and she didn't know care that none of the Slytherins stood up and that all of them were whispering angrily to each other. She was happy to be alive, and nothing could change that. She was eternally grateful to all of her friends and to Slughorn for the antidotes he gave her. Not to mention how grateful she was to the healers at St. Mungo's. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Lily, Sirius sitting on her other side.

Claire's pale complexion had all but faded back to the regular beauty of her skin, the even tone and perfect skin texture. Her blonde hair was no longer matted and tangled, but fell gracefully down her back just as straight as it had been two weeks ago. The pupils of her pale and mesmerizing blue eyes had gone back to their normal size, no longer dilated and huge. During her absence, Sirius never left her bedside except for certain classes. Every once in a while, he would steal James's invisibility cloak and sneak in after hours and skip classes.

As Claire sat down at the Gryffindor table for the first time in two weeks, she noticed how thin her friends looked. Sirius, James, and Remus were still muscular as they had always been, but their faces seemed slimmer. Lily was clearly a worried person. Her hair was drooping and her eyes had lost their usual shine and glow, not to mention that she was not wearing a single speck of makeup and her hair looked like it took only about two seconds to style it, being in a ponytail. Tanya was paling a slight amount and her usually glowing skin was looking drier than they had ever seen it.

"You guys are terrible!" said Claire loudly. "You were starving yourselves?"

"We skipped meals to come and see you sometimes, yes. Sirius never left your side practically. He's probably only eaten a real full meal when we brought them to him," replied Lily with a shrug.

"I can't believe you! You guys worry too much," she said, shaking her head. "Do you really think that I was going to give up that easily? It was just some stupid poison," replied Claire, trying to make her friends in better spirits.

"We'll try to fatten back up," joked Remus, his arm around Tanya's shoulders.

"You better," teased Claire. Claire leaned her head against Sirius's chest and looked up at his face. He, too, looked very worried.

"Claire," he began softly. "How do you think we all felt when we found out that there's nothing we can do to stop you from dying eventually. I'm sure Madam Pompfrey told you that there's no way to stop this poison, right?" Claire lifted her head and looked away from Sirius, she didn't want him acting like this. She wanted her friends to enjoy themselves, to act as though nothing has or would ever change.

"Claire," he began again. "I've been wanting to tell you that I…I – " Claire held a finger to his lips.

"Don't say your goodbyes," she insisted. "I'm perfectly fine, see, look at me, fine."

"But – " he began again. She moved her fingers and kissed him. It was short, but incredibly sweet and very romantic. Nothing like a good kiss to shut a guy up.

"What was I saying?" asked Sirius in a slight daze when she pulled away. Neither had mentioned that, lately, whenever they made the smallest contact, their hearts either skipped beats or went in triple-overtime. And of course, neither had mentioned how their heads became foggy and their minds like jigsaw puzzles that were just broken and they were trying to put them back together.

"Nothing," said Claire with a laugh after she shook out the fog. James and Lily looked at each other, exchanging another of their silent conversations. It was then, that the rest of the world came back and Sirius and Claire were no longer alone as they had felt that they were. Lily leaned forward across the table and kissed James for about thirty seconds. Everyone wondered when they would come up for air.

"What was that for?" asked James with a laugh. She could tell he liked it, but didn't know the reason behind it.

"I haven't said good morning yet," she giggled, sitting back down in her seat.

"Well, I'm glad you decided to do that," he laughed. James looked to Sirius as though he realized something automatically.

"What's wrong, mate?" asked Sirius, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, Madam Pompfrey said that there were bruises on Claire's arms while you two were asleep at one point. She lifted up Claire's hand and we saw them for ourselves. They were all over your arms, Claire. They were huge, things that looked like they'd be long-lasting," said Lily, reading James's mind again.

"Quidditch," said Sirius and Claire at the same time. James eyed them suspiciously, knowing for a fact that it wasn't Quidditch at all. Claire was the best flier on the team, and she always was. She was the best at maneuvering, second only to James. She had never fallen in practice or the games and she had never been hit by a bludger once in her life that he could remember, and they had all three joined the team the same year, second. He let it drop, though, deciding it wasn't the best time to question someone after they just came beck from death row. After that, most of the day was spent in the common room, and no one asked Claire about the bruises again.

It was nightfall and Sirius had asked Claire to take another walk with him on the grounds.

"Claire," began Sirius. "At breakfast today, I wasn't trying to say goodbye or anything. What I was doing was trying to tell you something, something important, but you shushed me." Claire let out a small laugh.

"What was it you wanted to say?" she asked, grabbing Sirius's hand once she recovered from the tiny chuckle she let escape.

"I was wondering whether you thought it was possible to meet…you know…the…one…at only seventeen years old?" Claire's heart skipped a beat, stopped, and then picked up again going faster than it ever had. She groaned internally and turned a pleading eye to Sirius.

"Sirius," she began sadly. "I've already accepted that I'm going to die," she said, tears filling in the corners of her eyes. "I don't want a reason to fight it, to be sad that I'm going. Before you came along, my life wasn't easy at all, but then you came into the picture and when I'm with you I just…I don't know…I feel like I can relax and I can just forget about everything. You're perfect Sirius, and I'm upset that I'm leaving, yes, but I don't want to be angry at fate, at God (Claire is catholic…just like ME! I know, this is a bit of a Walk To Remember cliché). You've made me so happy the last few months, happier than I've even been in my entire life. You've made me so happy, and yet…. immensely terrified at the same time. What I mean is…is that I feel the same way you do, but I don't want to be angry, or sad, or whatever."

"Claire," Sirius began gain. "I am so new at this, so completely and utterly new at this, but I am going on what James says about how he feels when he's with Lily and how he acts when he's not. I think that…I think that despite the personality I have…I've fallen for you. I've fallen for you, Claire, and I never imagined that happening, ever… I never imagined it being like this, so complicated and difficult."

"Sirius, I…I don't really know what love is. Look at the home I come from. My parents never showed it to each other and they never showed me the love a parent is supposed to show. If love is the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, the daze when ever we kiss, the way my heart speeds up at the smallest contact, the racing of my pulse even now, and the want – no, the need – to be with you, always, yes, I do love you. The feeling that we are the only people in the room when we're together, if that's love, then yes, I love you."

"I never knew love from my parents either, but what you just said is what I'm basing everything in, risking everything for. If that is truly love, then I love you more than any person, more than anything in the world."

"The feeling's mutual," she laughed, the dense atmosphere automatically lifting as she threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her up under her arms, looking up at her face. When he placed her gently back onto the ground, her arms still wrapped tightly around his shoulders, and he looked back into her eyes. Then, without thinking, he placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him and kissed her more romantically then he had before.

_Meanwhile_

"They look so cute," said Lily softly, looking out the common room window. Three of them (James, Lily, and Peter) were looking down at the lake and watching their best friends fall in love, even when they weren't sure that they were or what love even was.

Tanya and Remus were sitting on the couch in the common room, being polite and giving their friends privacy. Remus had his arm draped over her shoulders, but other than that, holding hands in corridors, and an occasional kiss hello and goodbye, their relationship hadn't changed much. Let's go back to Lily, James, and Peter. Peter was standing in front of the two, being the shortest and had his nose pressed against the glass. James turned to Lily as though he was insulted, but clearly joking.

"No, you're cute," he laughed, poking the tip of her nose with his index finger.

"Oh, Potter, stop with the flattery," she laughed.

"Guess what, Lily?" he asked with an impish grin.

"What?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her on the forehead. He grabbed her hand and towed her to the other couch, sitting on one side, against the armrest. Lily flopped down next to him, he head automatically finding his chest and resting itself there. He craned his neck to kiss her softly, but romantically, and then sat back up. It was only a few moments before they both fell to sleep, the three awake not having the heart to wake them up. About ten minutes later, Peter went upstairs drowsily, leaving his four friends sitting on the couches. About five minutes after that, Claire and Sirius walked into the common room, laughing about something, but, judging form their soaked appearances, they had probably just had another water fight, either in the lake, or with spells.

Claire bit back laughter as she saw Lily and the unorthodox position she was sitting in. At some point while they were sleeping, Lily's head had fallen from James's chest, to his lap, and his fingers were entangled in her dark and vibrant red hair. Claire and Sirius were fighting laughter so much, but Tanya and Remus were just smiling and rolling their eyes. Claire tiptoed over to Lily and poked her hard on the forehead, something that always made her wake up. Lily flailed slightly and fell off of the couch, onto the floor, shrieking in pain as James's fingers were still in her hair and causing him to fall on top of her. Sirius roared with laughter, gripping the edge of the table for support as though he may fall to the floor form laughing so hard.

"Sorry," he said apologetically, getting off of Lily and backing away. He held out a hand for her so that he could help her up.

"Don't worry," said Lily in a strained voice. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her back to her feet, coming right into his arms as he kissed her passionately for quite a long time and the other four rolled their eyes again. They went upstairs after what could've been hours or minutes, they never really kept track, and time seemed so much faster when the three couples were together. They all climbed into their beds and tried to fall asleep, Lily and Tanya, Remus and James did fine.

Sirius fell asleep after a few minutes, and dreamt only of Claire, happy dreams of course, until a nightmare crept into his brain. Claire was lying on the floor of the common room, her eyes open, her skin pale, her pupils were dilated, dark circles framing her eyes. She was dead, and nothing was going to bring her back. Sirius tried to push it form his mind, but the dead and frightened looking face loomed in his mind for the rest of the night, haunting him.

Claire was dreaming about Sirius, happy dreams like he was, but, also like him, a nightmare crept to her mind as well. She was looking up at him, but, all of the sudden, she began to fall, down, into a pit of darkness, she was dying, and she was trying to get back to the surface, she didn't want to leave Sirius. She saw his sad and frightened face as she fell, looking up to the small amount of light in the hole, the surface. His face seemed to grow as she got farther away, ripping out her heart and killing her. She didn't want her last glimpse of this world to be that sad face, and she would do all that she could to keep it form happening.

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A/N: So, not a short chapter this time, that's good right. The next one is their Christmas holiday, and maybe a surprise will come for them…who knows. So, read, review, you know what to do by now. The next chapter will be up ASAP. So, I've decided that I will post as many chapters as I can on the weekends, and that's one of the few times I can. If one goes up during the week, it means that I was either off school or had like no homework. So, next chapter, up soon, I promise.


	18. Meet the Parents

A/N: Yes, a fast update, I know that's probably what you're thinking…so, shall we get a move on then? YAY! Christmas Holidays! So, thanks to all who review and to those who have me as a favorite, thanks a ton!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, all that belongs to the ingenius J.K. Rowling

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Over the following few months, everyone had been arguing about holiday plans. Remus didn't want anyone at his house, and no one really knew why. Sirius obviously didn't want anyone at his house, not with those stupid people there…you know, his family, haha. Peter didn't care at all, sadly enough. His parents were making him come home alone to their house, so he didn't have much choice, so much for coming of age, huh? James was the only one who volunteered his house, and so, the three boys all went to James's house.

Of course, no one wanted to stay at Hogwarts while they had amazing warm beds to go home to, although they loved the place, it was more that there were certain people they didn't want to be stuck at school with, like Snivelly. Claire gave no reason, but refused to lend her house as the holiday hideout (of course, we and Sirius know the reason, but no one else does). Tanya couldn't because her parents were going on a cruise in the Caribbean and so she had to stay with Lily no matter what. So, Lily decided to bring Claire with her for the holidays back to her own house, and that was that. Lily and James both sent owls to their parents and got replies very quickly, even though Lily's parents weren't quite used to owl mail yet. Claire owled her mother and Remus mailed his parents and they were ready, they only had to get through a few more days of classes and it would be back aboard the Hogwarts Express and into Kings Cross Station to stay home for three entire weeks of Christmas Holidays!

As they got off the train they were saying their farewells to each other. To Lily, it was unbearable to be away from James for an entire three weeks. To Claire it was like being starved for three weeks. Tanya could deal, she hadn't fallen in love yet, and to her, Remus was more like a very old friend or a boyfriend, not a first love.

"I have to go, Lils," Said James, his hands resting on her hips.

"No, you can't go, I'll miss you too much," she said, throwing her arms around his neck. James laughed lightly and kissed Lily on the forehead, before moving his head so that their faces were even, his forehead pressed against hers. He moved his hands so that they were on her cheeks. Moonstone was sitting on top of Lily's trunk, her green eyes following every motion, her black tail swishing.

"It hardly seems fair does it?" he asked, everyone in the entire world vanishing.

"What?" she breathed. Her voice sounded like it belonged to someone else. They had never had their faces this close without kissing before, and they heard each other's heartbeat and heard the breath coming unsteadily and nervously from their mouths. It was maddening.

"It just doesn't seem fair that we should be apart from each other for so long," he said in a voice as shaky as hers, but more controlled.

"Then don't leave me," she whined.

"You know I have to go play host for three weeks," he said.

"I know, but I don't want your arms to not be around me for more then twenty-four hours. If they are, I might just fall over dead one day from not enough of James Potter."

"Don't joke about dying, not anymore, it isn't funny now, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember, just trying to lighten the mood." She lifted her head and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tenderly while he hugged back. They treasured the moment for the small amount of time that it lasted, and then, when they split apart, James kissed her for the last time in three entire weeks. Lily couldn't get used to that thought.

"I love you," James whispered.

"I know, I love you two," Lily whispered back. About ten feet away, there was a similar conversation.

"I don't want to be away from you," said Claire sadly, small tears welling into her eyes. "What if…while I'm gone…"

"It's not going to happen that soon, I promise you, Claire."

"Okay," she whispered, still sounding sad and unconvinced.

"Sirius Black," she said softly. "I love you."

"Clara Martin," he whispered back. "I love you more."

"I highly doubt that," she said softly.

"I don't, but let's not go through this now or we'll never get out of this train station."

"Please, don't leave me."

"I'll see you in a couple of weeks, you'll be fine, you'll be with Lils and Tanya."

"But I won't be with you."

"Claire, calm down, you'll be okay, okay?"

"Okay." He kissed her for what seemed like far too short of a time, but in all actuality, it was probably about an entire forty seconds. Lily came up behind her, grabbing her hand and towing Claire, her trunk, and her own trunk; the small black cat was following behind her, totting gracefully. Then, she stopped at Tanya who was busy kissing Remus at the time and tapped her on the shoulder. Tanya opened one eye and looked to Lily, rolled the eye and then backed off, away form Remus.

"Sorry, Rem, I have a very impatient friend," apologized Tanya.

"It is perfectly fine," said Remus, kissing Tanya on the cheek one last time before she walked away in the direction of the tall, thin red-haired woman in the crowd.

"Hi, Mrs. Evans," said Claire with a smile.

"Hello, Claire, Tanya, and darling Lily, how was the first half of term?"

"Great," said the three girls at once.

"I could tell by the people you were with," said Mrs. Evans with grin and a single eyebrow raised.

"Oh, mother, don't lecture me on men today, please," pleaded Lily, as they began walking out of the station and towards the green minivan in the parking lot. It was a bit funny that Lily's mother hadn't noticed the cat yet.

"Fine, I was just saying I saw you, but what I want to know is names, come on, girls, spill." Mrs. Evans was very young for her age, the spontaneous type that Lily always longed to be. Mrs. Evans, or Miss Pat (her name was Patricia and I thought it was a good name because ti was Irish and if Lily has red hair and green eyes, she's probably Irish, but that's just my interpretation), as the girls sometimes called her, was freckly all over her face and arms, but she was still beautiful. She had had Lily at only twenty-two and never regretted it. She loved her two daughters with her whole heart and soul, even though Petunia was sometimes wrongly thinking that Patricia sometimes loved Lily more because they were proud of her being a witch.

"Alright, well, if Lily and Claire don't want to mention any names, Miss Pat, then I'll go first," began Tanya. "I've got Remus Lupin. Well, actually what's funny is we're all dating best friends, if you know what I mean. Lily and Claire's guys are my guy's best friends and you know us three are best friends, so, it's pretty cool really."

"Sounds pretty awesome, girls," said Miss Pat. "So, Claire, Lily?"

"I think Lils is a bit embarrassed about her guy," said Claire with an impish grin that she seemed to have acquired form being around Sirius too much.

"I saw him, he is really good-looking. I don't see what the problem is," said Miss Pat with a smile to her daughter.

"Well, if she won't tell, then I will. Mine's Sirius Black," said Claire with a grin.

"He was a very handsome one, Claire. I saw him, he had great hair, just like you," said Miss Pat with a wink to Claire. Miss Pat would have done anything to have looked like Claire in school, actually, probably any girl would've. Any girl would've taken Claire's hair in a heartbeat. Miss Pat, being a woman who runs a salon, always loved to critique people's hair. She had never found anything wrong with the three girls' hair.

"Alright, mum, I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to say anything that would offend me in any way, shape, or form," said Lily.

"I promise, Lils," said her mother, placing her right hand over her heart. Only the other two girls noticed her move her left hand behind her back and cross her fingers.

"Alright, that boy I was with…that's James Potter," she said, holding her breath. Miss Pat didn't have the heart to say "I told you so" and so she kept her mouth shut.

"And, like I said, he was very good looking," admitted Miss Pat. "Although, I bet with some work, we could get his hair to lie flat, what do you girls think?" The three girls laughed internally. Miss Pat had no idea how James always like his hair extremely untidy. How, for the past six years, Lily had always hated him for messing it up all of the time on purpose.

"So, mum, what are the plans for Christmas?" asked Lily.

"It's a surprise, dears," said Miss Pat. Lily eyed her mother suspiciously and then shrugged it off, remaining quiet the rest of the drive home. After all, her thoughts had found their way back to James again. They got in the car and drove to their small house in London. They sat in silence for practically the entire drive, Moonstone dozing in Lily's lap. All of them held their breath when they entered the house, preparing to be bombarded with insults from upstairs from Petunia.

_Meanwhile_

Mr. And Mrs. Potter waited for the boys to get their things and then ushered them to the bewitched family car – actually, it was a van – and then the two parents loaded the trunks into the back with some levitation charms (after looking around to see that no muggles were watching of course). They climbed into the front seat and the car began moving on its own as soon as Mr. Potter tapped the steering wheel with his wand. Mrs. Potter turned around in her seat to look at the boys. She jumped from her seat, not bothering that they were in a moving vehicle and hugged Sirius like a long lost son and James and Remus just as tightly. Then, she climbed back into her seat and faced the boys.

"James, dear, I saw you with that Evans girl," said the mother with a grin. "So, that's the girl you've been chasing after for years and years, is it?" James just nodded and Sirius elbowed him hard in the ribs for being so vague about details. "She looked very sweet, not to mention very beautiful, but it was an eccentric beauty, something you don't see everyday."

One thing that James loved about his family was that it wasn't anything at all like Sirius's family. No one in the Patter clan cared if their children married pureblood witches or wizards. It was what counted inside, not blood and heritage. Sirius laughed and Remus covered his mouth so that he wouldn't.

"Remus, is it true that you have finally realized how perfect you are for that Tanya Bolanos (Bolanos is a name that a person I know from Spain has, so that's where that name's from) girl." This time it was James's turn to laugh.

"Yes, ma'am," said Remus respectfully.

"And Sirius Black, don't think that I didn't see you with Hogwarts best dish, Clara Martin. Every boy, even the Slytherins love her, and she is so gorgeous. Sirius, hold on to this one. Oh, and I heard about the whole poison ordeal, she will be alright, won't she?" asked Mrs. Potter. Sirius looked down at the floor, not wanting to reflect on the little time he had left with his beloved Claire, only the rest of the term, and they were already half way through.

"So, mum," Said James, trying to change the subject as the awkward silence began to creep in. "What are our plans for Christmas?"

"It's a surprise," said Mr. Potter as he turned around for the first time to look at the three boys that he considered his three sons.

"What do you mean by surprise, Dad?"

"Exactly the definition of the word. Something unexpected or unknown until the occurrence occurs," said Mr. Potter with a banter-like glint in his eye.

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A/N: So, anyone know what the surprise is? I do, gee, I wonder why? So, read, review, favorites, etc. Can't wait to write the next chapter, should be fun with a few girls' nights out and boys' nights out. Oh, and we get to see Aunt Petunia as a fifteen-year-old. I am making Petunia two years younger than Lily, because I don't remember what the age difference was or even if it is ever mentioned, so, yeah, the gist of this basically the surprise will be introduced in the next chapter.


	19. The Vacation Begins

A/N: Okay, thanks a ton for those sweet reviews, they were so…well…sweet. To those who added me to their favorites, thanks a ton, love you guys (Robyn!). So, let's get a move on because I am sure you guys are dying to know what the surprise was.

"Mum, what are the freaks doing here!" screamed Petunia form upstairs. Lily, Tanya, and Claire all rolled their eyes. They were used to Petunia being like that.

"They're staying for the holidays, Petunia, dear," called Miss Pat. They heard a roar of frustration and a door slam somewhere upstairs and knew automatically that Petunia didn't know about this plan.

"Sorry bout her," said Mr. Evans, turning the corner and coming out of the kitchen. Lily got her eyes from Mr. Evans, or Mr. Scott as they called him. He was tall, slightly balding on top of his head, but where he had hair, it was brown. He was slightly plump around the middle, but what middle-aged man usually wasn't, especially with Miss Pat's cooking.

"Hey, Mr. Scott, how've you been?" asked Claire, a smile creasing her dry lips.

"Very well, Claire, how about yourself?" asked Mr. Scott. He was an English teacher at a muggle high school, so he always spoke properly.

"Pretty, good…I mean well," she recovered, seeing Mr. Scott start to roll his eyes.

"That's always nice to hear. Well, ladies, dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes if you wish to go and unpack. We've got the huge upstairs living room all set up for you. Oh, Tanya, how are you?" he asked, seeing Tanya move from behind Lily.

"I'm great Mr. Scott. Thanks a tone for letting us stay here, it's really nice of you," she said, picking up her trunk. Moonstone finally appeared to Lily's parents by jumping into Lily's arms.

"Lils, where did you get a cat?" asked Miss Pat, eyeing it suspiciously.

"It was a gift," laughed Lily, mostly at the fact of how non-observational her parents were. Lily's mother narrowed her eyes into little slits.

"From that boy?" she asked, raising one eyebrow, the grin never leaving her face. Lily nodded, blush coloring her cheeks incredibly fast.

"What boy?" asked Mr. Scott loudly.

"James Potter," said Miss Pat, turning to her husband. Mr. Scott let out a laugh so loud that they heard a door creak upstairs and knew Petunia had opened it to see what was going on.

"Dad, please," pleaded Lily.

"Sorry, Lils, we just knew it would happen eventually if he kept asking you," said her father. Lily rolled her eyes and dropped the cat, which, of course, landed on her feet. Lily picked up her trunk and lugged it up the stairs, Claire and Tanya following, trailed by Moonstone. They heard the door slam shut again and knew Petunia didn't want to be caught dead near Lily or her "freaky friends" as she called them.

"Petunia, Claire really wants to say hi to you," called Lily, biting back her laughter. Lily, Claire, Tanya, and Petunia never forgot the time that Claire accidentally used magic and Petunia found herself in a horrible predicament. Ever since then, Petunia didn't just hate Claire, she was afraid of her. See, Petunia ended up with her hair on fire, and it took about thirty full seconds for them to put it out. Of course, this was back when they were unpracticed and in the term between second and third year. Claire would never do something like that again. By now, Petunia's hair was almost to her shoulders. When they reached the upstairs living room, there were three sleeping bags, all with the heads meeting at the middle. Lily sat down on hers and was relieved to find that it was incredibly squashy and comfy. She dropped her trunk and the cat leapt onto it, her tail swishing again, the green eyes following every movement.

"So," began Claire, taking off her large hoodie so she could cool herself off in just a thin, long-sleeved pink shirt. "What do you think these surprise Christmas plans are?"

"Don't know. You guys know my parents, my mum loves surprises, but my dad, well, you know him," answered Lily. Her father was a grounded person and so he rarely ever traveled or went on vacation. Lily walked to her room to see if she had any mail, and she wasn't expecting what she saw.

When Lily was at school, all of her post was left on her bed for her when she came back during breaks and holidays. No one ever sent mail by owl to her while she was at school because everyone she knew was at school with her. There, on her windowsill was a large, brown barn owl with a letter in its beak. Lily petted its feathers and took the mail from it.

_Lily, _

_Just wanted to see if you got home safe and sound. Remus and Sirius say hi to everyone. Just want you to know I love you and I miss you more than anything in the world. I can't really divulge where we're going for this little vacation because my parents refuse to tell me anything, insisting that it's a surprise. How cruel of them, huh? Mail me back as soon as you can because I told the bird not to leave until he got a reply from you, haha._

_James_

Lily read the letter a few times and then walked back into the living room, handing the letter to her friends to read.

"Weird, huh? The fact that our parents are so secretive and alike in that sense," she said softly, the owl fluttering in behind her, looking around expectantly.

"What's with the owl?" asked Claire after handing the letter back to Lily.

"James told it to stay until I sent a reply back," said Lily, sitting down on her sleeping bag.

"DINNER!" called Miss Pat from downstairs. Petunia opened her door and looked around, her brown hair and horsy face protruding from it. As soon as she saw the owl she gave a shriek, seeming to forget Claire was in the room.

"What is that thing doing here?" she screamed.

"I got a letter, calm down or you might blow a blood vessel, gosh little sis," said Lily with a laugh.

"Who would write a letter to a freak like you?" asked Petunia, grabbing it from Lily's hand and reading it, her eyes growing so wide that they rivaled that of an ostrich. "Mum and dad are going to be so mad when they hear that you've got a boyfriend…and that he _loves _you, haha!" she shrieked with laughter. Lily grabbed the letter from her hand and shrugged.

"Go ahead, they already know I have a boyfriend, whatever, tell them, I don't care," shrugged Lily. Petunia turned around, letting out a frustrated snort and stomping down the stairs to the kitchen. Lily, Claire, and Tanya all got up, laughing so hard, and walked down the steps, much more quietly. They sat down to the table, the warm aroma of spaghetti entering their noses. It was mouthwatering. They all served themselves and then said grace. As the three witches dug into their food, Mr. and Mrs. Evans began to speak.

"So, as for that surprise…I know you girls really wanted a bit of fun alone this winter, and so, we decided to…" began Miss Pat, looking at her husband. "We decided to book you three a nice little cruise getaway around the isles area, and it'll be two weeks, just for your type of people and you will love it. It has spas and dancing and everything you can imagine," finished Miss Pat. The food in Lily's mouth fell back to the plate. Claire dropped her fork and Tanya shook her head as though she just received some great, amazing shock.

"Mum, Dad, that's so awesome," said Lily, finding it difficult not to leap across the table and hug her parents.

"We thought you'd like it, Lils. The boat leaves tomorrow morning at about seven AM, but it takes about an hour to get there, so we'll have to wake you around…five," said her father. Lily groaned, she was not a morning person. Tanya was though, with a glow like hers, she was an any time of day person. She didn't care. Claire just widened her eyes, shrugged, and got back to her food. They were surprised that Petunia hadn't made protest yet. They looked to her, her mouth hanging open, the fork limp in her hands, her eyes like ostrich's again.

"Petunia, dear, what's the matter?" asked Miss Pat.

"You're sending them on a cruise?" she asked, her eyes narrowing into slits as she pointed to the three girls with her fork.

"Yes, dear, and you're allowed to go with them if you want to," said Miss Pat.

"A cruise…a cruise with a bunch of freaks on it? Why would I want to do that. I'm happy about this, I don't have to be around them for most of the time, thanks Mum, thanks Dad." Lily rolled her eyes again and thought o James, how would her get mail to her if she was on a cruise. It was a magical cruise, so it was possible that it might have some way of communication to the rest of the wizarding world.

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They woke up the next morning, Tanya perfectly fine, Claire and Lily practically dead on their feet. After showering, dressing, drying their hair, and brushing their teeth, the slumped down the stairs tiredly, well, two of them at least, and climbed into their Miss Pat's car. Lily kissed her father on the cheek as they drove off. The car was silent, seeing as half of the occupants were asleep within ten minutes and Miss Pat didn't talk when she drove.

They got to the seaport at about six thirty and Lily kissed her mother goodbye and Miss Pat hugged all of the girls in turn before they climbed the stairs, pulling their trunks along. They flashed their tickets to the admissions man and he nodded. They climbed aboard and looked around. It was a beautiful ship. It was painted a white, but it had a slight blue tint and there were sparking golden stars glistening on the paint. The ship was apparently called the Silver Arrow, a popular broom at the time. The three girls traveled below deck to find their cabin, holding only third class tickets because Lily's mother and father weren't the richest people in the world. They found their cabin and pushed open the door. There was a bunk bed and one single.

"I call the single," shouted Lily, throwing her stuff onto it as a claim.

"I want top bunk then," shouted Claire.

"Fine, I hate top," conceded Tanya. "Sounds like this works out perfectly." They dropped their stuff off in the room and went back upstairs to explore the deck of the ship. The floor was perfect, hardwood flooring with a glassy shine. There were people walking around on the deck as well, tipping their hats to everyone they met. Lily guessed it was the first-class people. Lily looked up at the sky as the ship began to leave the harbor and saw the mermaids leaping around in front of the bow. They were giggling loud, shrieking giggles that carried for miles. Claire and Tanya came up next to her and placed their elbows on the wall of the ship, looking out over the water.

"You miss your guy too, then?" Claire asked the two of them.

"Well," said Lily, turning around and leaning against the wall. "That's a pretty stupid question, all things considered." They laughed and decided to explore more. They found the ballroom quickly and it was filled with people talking animatedly about the upcoming journey. Lily could tell by their robes that her mother was right, definitely a cruise for only witches and wizards. It was also very clear that the ballroom was occupied by only first-class occupants at the time. She noticed no one she recognized except for the sneering Lucius Malfoy and his girlfriend Narcissa Black, Sirius's cousin, among the crowd. Narcissa was wearing emerald green dress robes and had her hair pulled into a bun with a few curls escaping down her back. Lucius was wearing purple dress robes that were regal looking, but also slightly…well, funny looking. They began to exit when they heard a familiar voice call from behind them.

"Lily?"

A/N: Haha, my evil powers of keeping people on the edge of their seats is working once more with another cliffhanger, haha! So, read, review, etc, you know I love you guys. Oh, and the next chapter will be out before the end of Sunday so that you won't have to wait the entire week for an update.


	20. Happenings Aboard

A/N: Oh, sorry that I forgot to mention that the cat is with them. After all, it is a wizarding cruise and half of the occupants have owls, cats, and toads with them. And the cliffhanger, sorry, but I cannot allow daggers to be thrown at me, just kidding, I know you wouldn't do that…I think. So, shall we continue?

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The three girls turned around, James, Sirius, and Remus were standing in front of them, James's hand on Lily's wrist as he had grabbed it so as not to let her leave without seeing him. He was wearing regular clothes, just simple jeans with holes worn in the knees and a shirt with something written on it, but Lily didn't bother looking at that.

"What are you doing here?" she asked incredulously.

"My parents surprised us with a trip on this cruise, you?" he asked.

"Same…you don't think…" she trailed off.

"Nah, they don't even know each other," said James. "So, how did you get rid of my owl without replying, and how is that cat I bought you, please tell me you didn't leave it with the muggles."

"No, I brought it with me, it's back in the cabin. The owl left when I told it that I was leaving the next day and I may have bribed it a bit with some treats," shrugged Lily. James pulled her closer to him.

"I missed you, you know," he said, sliding his hands into her back jean pockets.

"Why don't you prove it," she suggested with a grin. James rolled his eyes and kissed her romantically before doing that same thing that he did at the train station. His head and her head were even and his face was not even an inch form hers, their foreheads touching. The world vanished before their eyes as always.

"Good enough?" he breathed. He sounded a bit more clam this time, but Lily could tell that he was still a little shaken by this new intensity they had found themselves at.

"Most definitely," she breathed. James placed one hand on the side of her neck and kissed her once more before backing away from her, holding her hand. Claire and Sirius were in the middle of a snog. Tanya and Remus were rolling their eyes at their friends.

"I love you," Lily whispered in James's ear.

"I love you too," he said, poking her nose again. Claire and Sirius surfaced and parted, looking at each other with sparkling eyes. Claire and Sirius loved each other as much as Lily and James loved each other, that was obvious.

"I missed you more than you could ever know," sighed Claire.

"I think I know because I experienced it too, hun," he replied with a laugh. Claire laughed back and took in his apparel. He was wearing a pair of jeans too, not ripped like James's though, and a long-sleeved shirt that was a pale blue. The shirt was hinting at the muscles behind Sirius's chest, and it was driving Claire crazy.

"I love you," she said, resting her head on his chest and looking up at him.

"The feeling's mutual," he laughed, Claire's head shaking as his chest rose and fell with his laughter. She lifted her head and kissed him again, both of them losing their minds.

"That has to stop," he laughed again.

"You're not joking," she said, kissing him again. Sirius laughed a weak and yet still hearty laugh, and put his arm around her shoulders. Remus gave Tanya a small kiss and then they found themselves sitting at a table in the room.

"So, are your cabins around here?" James asked, wondering why he hadn't seen them yet. Claire, Tanya, and Lily didn't know that James was loaded and that he held a first-class ticket, and James didn't know that Lily's family wasn't the richest in the world, but they got by and they were fine that way.

"No," Lily said, astonished that he would think they were in first class. "Are yours?"

"Yeah, where are you guys at?" asked James.

"We're down below," said Lily.

"Steerage? You're kidding? Lily, I can't have that, we'll get you a first class room, okay?" offered James.

"No, seriously, you don't have to, I'm just lucky enough to be here."

"There are always extra first class rooms." Lily could tell that James wasn't going to take no for an answer and so, she decided to give up.

"Fine, James if you want to, go ahead." Tanya and Claire looked excited at the prospect of having their own rooms. James went into great detail about how the first-class rooms looked. Apparently there was a sitting room, a living room, a deck overlooking the ocean, three bedrooms fully furnished with whatever the person living there would like the best, and, of course, magic was completely accepted even to the underage wizards and witches.

"You mean we can do magic while we're here?" asked Claire, immediately excited.

"Yeah," said Sirius, his arm still draped over her shoulders.

"Sweet," she squealed. "It's about time we're able to."

"You're not joking," said Sirius. He was the one most excited out of the guys and was still excited about it.

"Seen anyone you recognize?" asked James.

"We saw Lucius and Narcissa, you?" asked Tanya.

"We saw Bellatrix, that Rudolphus Lestrange kid, Andromeda, Alaster Moody, the famous auror, is here. We also saw the Prewetts and the Weasleys. You know them, they used to be in Gryffindor with us, but now they're like really well off. Molly Prewett married Arthur Weasley by the way. They're like twenty-five now and already have two kids, Bill and Charlie," said Remus.

"Oh, I remember those two, they were in like their seventh year when we were in only like first," said Claire.

"Yeah," said Sirius. "We saw some of the old teachers too and that kid who came of age last year, that weirdo from Hufflepuff, Quirrel."

"Oh, I remember him, he was so strange, and I think he was one of those other dark arts obsessed kids too, like Snape and them," said Lily.

"Why do you think we hated them?" asked James with a laugh.

"I thought you were just a git, to be honest," laughed Lily. James looked at her, pretending to be hurt and then rolling his eyes. He moved his hand from inside of hers and placed it around her shoulders, pulling her towards him and kissing the top of her head.

"I know you were joking," he said with a laugh.

"Well, it was partially a joke, keep in mind what happened between you and Snape in fifth year…remember that time I yelled at you and landed you, Sirius, and Snape in detention?"

"Yeah, I remember," said James with a look of disgust. "I can't believe you stuck up for that creep."

"I never did it again," she laughed.

"That's true," he conceded.

"This place is so boring, I can't even stand it!" Lily said loudly. About three tables of people turned to stare at her, looking insulted and having very superior looks on their faces. "Sorry," she said softly, looking down. Sirius fell off his chair laughing and Remus was trying as hard as physically possible for him not to. James just shook his head before letting out a huge laugh. Claire was giggling like a lunatic and Tanya…well, Tanya was the nice one to anyone, remember?

"Alright…alright," began James, recovering, "What do you want to go do then?"

"There's a pool, right, want to go swimming, it's the perfect time for tanning and this cruise does apparently have certain charms on it to make it a perfect _summer _getaway," replied Lily. James thought it over for a few seconds, mulling over the image if Lily in a bikini before agreeing. Sirius shot a look to Claire, a clear warning. Tanya agreed wholeheartedly, but they thought it was best to wait until dark. Remus…well, frankly, he didn't care. Claire, of course, was worried. She needed that spell again. The bruises from summer were beginning to fade slightly, but were still visible.

"I think we should go swimming now," whined Lily. "I brought my bathing suit and everything, come on, Tanya, please." Lily grabbed Tanya's arm and was pulling it like a three-year-old.

"Lily, think about it, it'll be way less crowded at night," said Tanya. Lily had never been one for crowds, and agreed quickly, but her mind quickly returning to another pressing matter.

"So, in the meantime, _what are we doing?_" she asked in a whiny voice.

"I'm hungry," said Sirius.

"You're always hungry," said Claire with an eye roll. She grabbed a handful of Sirius's hair and mussed it affectionately before kissing him on the cheek. He didn't seem to mind.

"You know, I think it is about lunchtime, why don't we get some food?" asked Tanya after her stomach growled rather loudly.

"Fine," groaned Lily. They stood up, each couple holding hands and found their way to the huge cafeteria in just a few yards form the ballroom. James led Lily in first, his arm draped over her shoulder as usual and her arms wrapped around his waist so that her head was resting right on his chest. Claire and Sirius were slightly more affectionate…constantly kissing each other on the cheek, tip of the nose, side of the neck, forehead. Sirius, nonetheless, was holding Claire's hand. Remus and Tanya, as usual, were rolling their eyes at their friends and Remus simply had his arm around Tanya so that she was very close to him.

"I wonder what they have to eat," wondered Sirius aloud.

"Hmm…maybe food," said Claire sarcastically. They sat down at one of the large tables, much like those in the great hall, and plates appeared in front of each of them, all filled with each person's favorite mealtime food ( I couldn't say food or Lily would have tens of thousands of chocolate bars on her plate). Lily's plate had a perfect rendition of her mother's mouth-watering spaghetti (remember it from a few chapters ago, or one chapter, or I don't remember). Claire's had a huge bowl in the center filled to the brim with some delicious looking chicken-noodle soup. Tanya's a was a dish form her father's home country – Spain – and was a large plate of fajita fixings with another plate of tortilla shells. Remus had a large steak (how ironic…) with a lot of steak sauce on it and some mashed potatoes on the side. Sirius had a large…full chicken on his plate, covered in some sort of juices with a scent of mouth-watering garlic coming from it. On the side was some chicken gravy, which Sirius poured onto it before carving it. James had a plate of pork tenderloins with juices that he could pour overtop of it. (I was gonna make James's veal, but I hate veal…I mean, yeah, it tastes good, but it's a baby cow, for heaven's sake, a cow raised only to slaughtered. I am not a vegetarian, and I could never be, but veal just grosses me out…rant over!)

They dug into their food immediately, constantly asking for bites of each other's meals.

"How could you like spaghetti, there's no meat in that?" asked James, looking incredulously at Lily.

"It is the meal I love and always remember. My mother makes the best spaghetti sauce in the world, completely from scratch and it is absolutely perfect. Here, have some," offered Lily, spinning up some of it with her fork and putting into James's open mouth. A small bit of a noodle hung out and Lily tried not to laugh as he slurped it in.

"You know, that is actually really good," he admitted with a smile. Lily gave a triumphant nod and went back to her food.

"Okay, so we both like chicken, then?" asked Sirius, looking from his huge plate of an entire chicken to Claire's bowl of soup. "Of course, yours is a bit…un-meaty."

"What is it with you boys and meat?" asked Claire, shaking her head and taking a bite of soup.

"It tastes good," said Sirius, looking shocked that she would even consider asking a question like that. "Give me a bite of that soup."

"No," said Claire defensively, placing her arm around the bowl and leaning over it so that no one could even see it. (This comes from what my brother used to do because he was like a food-maniac, we called him the garbage-disposal and I sat across the table form him for ten years, and – being that he was 10 years older than me – I picked it up and do it sometimes. But he did it all the time, so it was pretty funny to watch.)

"Come on," pleaded Sirius. "I'll give you a bite of my chicken, please."

"No," said Claire, trying to sound firm, but failing miserably at it because of Sirius's wet puppy-dog stare. "Fine, just quit with the look, it is melting my heart." She lifted the spoon and brought it to Sirius's mouth. He swallowed it immediately, but regretting it instantly.

"Ahh!" he practically screamed. "It's burning my throat, ahhh, how could you," he shrieked, fanning his mouth.

"Open your mouth," commanded Claire. She pointed her wand in his mouth and shouted: "aguamenti." A jet of clear, sparkling water went into Sirius's mouth and then she closed his mouth and held it shut, yelling at him to swallow. When he finally did, Claire let go of him and tried her best not to laugh.

"Thanks," breathed Sirius, regaining his composure.

"Don't mention it," she laughed. "So, what's with Remus and the steak?"

"Oh, come on, you can't seriously be asking that, can you?" asked Sirius, rolling his eyes at her.

"Oh, got it," she said with a slight nod. "How can you eat that much food?" she asked, once again, aghast at his garbage-disposal-like qualities.

"Years of practice," he said before finishing his food in record time. A few seats over, Lily was marveling at the same thing about James, wondering how on earth all that food was gone in only a few minutes. Sirius pushed his plate away and a large helping of cauldron cakes, puddings, pumpkin pasties, treacle tarts and countless other desserts that he loved equally appeared on another plate that was brought about form thin air in front of him. "Yum," he said gleefully, not bothering to use his fork and picking up the desserts and eating them.

Lily had pushed her plate away by now too, and only to have the exact ice cream form her first date with James appear in her hand. She looked at it questioningly and then James eyed it, biting back a laugh.

"Favorite dessert have some sentimental value just like your favorite food?" he asked, nudging her with his elbow. Lily blushed and licked the ice cream, finding it tasted just as good as the first time she'd had it. James's dessert appeared in his hand too and Lily looked at it with an eyebrow raised. It was also the same ice cream from their first date.

"Stupid enchantments," he muttered to himself, before taking a bite of the ice cream. Lily laughed, taking a bite of hers. It was perfect bliss once again. They spent the rest of the day exploring the ship, Claire and Sirius going off by themselves just before they decided it was finally time for a swim.

_Meanwhile_

Claire pulled Sirius into a room by his robes and told him to get out his wand. He got it and fumbled with it for a few seconds before thinking about it.

"Maybe we should just tell them," he said sincerely.

"No!" she objected. "I…I can't Sirius, please, just do this for me, please," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"What if we didn't go swimming then?" he asked. Sirius could really be a good person sometimes. Claire expected him to really want to go swimming with the whole bathing suit thing. Lily made Claire buy something to accentuate her figure and so, without trying it on, Claire had bought a bikini, the first on in her entire life.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking a bit guilty.

"Yeah, we can just take a walk or something, how bout it?" he asked.

"Okay," she said, blushing. They emerged from the small room, their friends standing outside it with expression of immense disapproval. Claire decided that maybe they had the wrong impression in their minds.

"No, no, no we didn't do anything," she said, waving her hands out in front of her. Their looks of disapproval changed to how-stupid-do-we-look expressions.

"We were just talking," said Sirius with honesty ringing in his tone.

"Oh sure, we know you Sirius," said Lily with a scowl.

"He's telling the truth, Lils," said Claire with a look like why-won't-you-believe-me.

"Whatever," said Tanya. "Come one, it's night already and I really want to go swimming."

"Actually, one of the things we were talking about was that Claire and me are gonna take a walk, okay guys?" confirmed Sirius.

"Whatever," said Tanya again, grabbing Lily by the hand and pulling her to their room. Lily changed in the small bathroom they had in the room while Tanya stayed in the bedroom. Lily made sure it was okay before coming out. Tanya was tying the back of her red bikini before stepping out the door. Lily had on a green bikini that was a strapless straight-across top and a tie bottom. They came out about five minutes later, deciding not to worry about their hair. The boys were already there in trunks, but their jaws dropped nonetheless. They followed the boys to the pool quietly - it being about eleven o'clock by now and they didn't want to wake anyone. When they got to the pool, it was completely empty and James did a cannon ball in. Lily stayed on the side, wondering whether or not if it was cold. Remus took the stairs and Tanya followed him, trying to stay as warm as possible.

"Lils, come in, it's fine," coaxed James. Lily just shook her head. For some reason, this didn't sound as good of an idea to her. James wasn't going to put up with it, it was her idea after all. He swam underwater, tapping his glasses (which he was still wearing) with a spell for them to repel water so he could see underwater. He swam up to the edge where Lily was and his head popped up and he grabbed her hand faster than Lily could react. He yanked her into the water as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Shut up," said James, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Someone probably heard that. Why didn't you want to get in the water so much that you screamed, you saw it was me."

"It wasn't that I was afraid of the water, notice how I only started screaming when you had me in the water. James," her voice became extremely quiet now. "My top just came off."

"Oh," said James, trying as hard as he could not to look away from Lily's face so he wouldn't risk a smack in the face. Lily was a very modest person; he was extremely surprised at her bathing suit choice actually. "Um…what should we do?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Lily, a hint of frenzy in her voice. She had her arms crossed over her chest so that nothing was showing and was looking frantically around the pool for her bathing suit top. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to see it well, seeing as the bottom of the pool was green and the water was perfectly clear, so everything looked green, especially when it was this dark. "Go find it, please, at least try." James turned to look, but Lily nudged him with her elbow. "AND DON'T LOOK UNDERWATER, because I'll be looking too and my hands won't be over my…you know," she hissed menacingly. James nodded again, still trying to keep his eyes on Lily's eyes and nothing else.

_Meanwhile_

Claire and Sirius were walking across the deck of the ship at night and the stars above them were a beautiful and perfect sight.

"I love you," he whispered to her, taking the hand he was holding and bringing it up to rub his cheek.

"I know, I love you too," she said softly, shivering slightly from the cold.

"Are you cold," he asked, concern ringing in every word.

"A little," she said quietly.

"Well, no wonder, no jacket. It's December you loon," he laughed, taking off his beige leather coat and draping it over her shoulders (cliché…I know).

"Thanks," she whispered.

"It's nothing," he said. "Claire," he began.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Did you know that…that I never had enough courage to ask you out?" She looked at him disbelievingly.

"Please, Sirius, you've dated every girl in our year except for Lily and Tanya. What would've stopped you?"

"I liked you ever since we first spoke," he said, color filling his cheeks.

"What?" she asked, disbelief, once again coating her tone.

"Don't you remember, the first time we spoke, first year, Hogwarts Express?"

"Kinda, it's really vague though."

**FLASHBACK**

_A boy who was very cute…for an eleven year old, of course, stumbled into one of the compartments, tripping over a trunk and falling, looking up at a girl with long, flowing blonde hair and a perfect face…she was also very well…developed for her age. Sirius was automatically hooked. _

"_Can I help you?" asked the girl sarcastically._

"_Um…" began the boy, at a loss for words. "Hi."_

"_Hi," she said, noting how adorable he was…especially when he was so inarticulate. She almost laughed, but bit back before a giggle escaped._

"_Sorry about that," he said, still not moving._

"_Are you gonna get off the floor?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, trying to figure him out like he was an abstract painting._

"_Oh, yeah," he said, getting up off the ground. He had black hair that fell perfectly around his head, some of it falling very near to his eyes, but it fell with perfection, like that you only see in male models._

"_My name's Claire," she said with a grin, extending her hand to him._

"_Sirius Black," he replied, shaking her hand._

"_Wait, I've heard of your family. I met your cousin, Bella, a few minutes ago in the hallway," said the girl, cringing internally due to the fact that Bella had cast a bat-bogey hex on her._

"_Oh," he snorted. "That little brat. I don't like her much." Claire exhaled a sigh that was audible even to Sirius. "And, I take it from that sigh that you don't like her much either."_

"_She hexed me, if it wasn't for a new friend, Lily Evans, I would probably still be screaming in the hall, she laughed. Sirius looked for the first time at the two other girls in the compartment. One had red hair and emerald green eyes and the other was tan with long black curly hair._

"_Hi," he said awkwardly. _

"_Hi," said the red-headed girl._

"_Oi, Sirius, where'd you get to?" called a voice from the corridor. A messy-haired, handsome boy with hazel eyes stepped into the compartment, his jaw dropping as he saw Lily. _

"_Is something wrong?" asked Lily concernedly. _

"_No, nothing," said James. "I just have one question."_

"_Okay," urged the redhead. _

"_Will you go out with me?" he asked pleadingly. Some of the girls in the hall shot Lily angry looks. It seemed that the two cutest boys in their year were standing there, hitting on them._

"_Do I know you?" asked Lily in disbelief. Here, in front of her was this strange boy who was pretty handsome if it wasn't for the fact that he was constantly running his fingers through his hair messing it up more and that he barely knew her._

"_No, but you'd like to," replied the messy-hair boy with a smirk._

"_No!" shouted Lily. Tanya and Claire, even Sirius laughed, but James was standing there, mouth hanging open and looking like something had just died in front of him. He had never been denied anything in his entire life. _

**END FLASHBACK**

"That was the first time he ever asked her out," laughed Claire.

"Yeah, I remember how funny we all thought it was. She had this look on her face like he was some diseased blast-ended skrewt. It was hilarious."

"So, you've liked me that long, huh?" she asked, instantly interested.

"Yeah, but I thought a girl as gorgeous as you would never go for me."

"Wanna know a small secret, I've liked you from then too," she whispered, kissing him deeply and they backed into the wall of the ship, but Sirius backed away, not wanting to push her too far. "It's fine, I think that we might have made it to this stage now." Sirius moved back in, his hands on her neck as he kissed her neck, his collarbone, and the top of her chest. Shivers went down Claire's spine as he moved back up to her face. He kissed her jaw line and then her lips, deeply and romantically, not to mention passionately. She kissed him back with equal intensity. His fingers traced her spine and his hand ran along on her back as they came to rest on her hips and he kissed her once more, backing away again. The jacket had fallen to the ground and they were hugging each other so sweetly that Claire even had tears running down her face. He had small tears in the corners of his eyes, but Claire was filled with emotion, she was shaking his arms and she had her head buried in his chest. Something was wrong with her.

"No!" she screamed, and then passed out in Sirius's arms. He held her up, knowing it was one of those episodes from the poison. He then scooped her up into a more careful position, cradling her in his arms as he always did when something like this happened.

_Meanwhile_

"I found it," said James triumphantly.

"Turn around," commanded Lily. James did as she said and turned around, throwing the top over his shoulder to her. She slid it on over her arms and then told him he could turn back around.

"Am I free to look at you now?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes," she said with a laugh. Swam towards her, pressing his forehead against hers again, the emotion surging through her, the spark and the perfection of it surging through her body as the world vanished again.

"What do you think they're doing?" asked Remus form across the pool. Tanya and him were sitting on the steps, Tanya with her head on his shoulder, as they looked at the pair in front of them in the deep end.

"My guess…snogging," said Tanya bluntly. Remus laughed and kissed the top of Tanya's head. They had no idea how wrong they were. It was too dark to see anything but their outlines and James and Lily never mentioned the top episode to them, so they just thought they were having some privacy or something. Tanya looked up at Remus and kissed him more than just a smooch or a peck; for once, it was actually a romantic kiss.

"What was that for?" asked Remus when she backed away and bit her lip, wondering if that was okay. Tanya and Remus valued nothing more than their friendship and they didn't want to risk that for anything. If they ever broke up, they wanted to stay friends.

"Was it too far?" she asked, still biting her lip.

"No, no, it was great…well, you know, I mean it was…" Tanya held a finger to his lips.

"You talk way to much," she whispered, kissing him again.

"Sorry…I mean, um…thanks," he said dazedly. She had never seen him at such a loss for words, and it was so…cute. She let out a small laugh and Remus joined in slightly.

"You know," said Lily softly.

"What?" asked James, looking right into her eyes. It wasn't so hard to keep focus anymore.

"You are really hot," she said bluntly.

"I know," he shrugged. It was the first time Lily had seen James without a shirt on, and, frankly, she liked it. He was incredibly muscular and chiseled.

"You know, you're not to bad yourself, Evans," he said, using the name he used to call her in fifth year and below.

"Oh really?" she asked playfully. "What, may I ask, is that supposed to mean, Potter?"

"Well, just that you look so pretty. I don't care how you look, even where your hair's wet, your mascara's smeared and running down your cheeks."

"Oh crap," she said loudly. "Why didn't you say something?" she asked, wiping under her eyes. He grabbed her hands to stop them.

"You look beautiful, stop it," he whispered, kissing her deeply, his fingers moving to her neck and then going down her back, tracing her spine. He truly was one of the best kissers in the school, second only to Sirius. When James had backed away, Lily wanted more, she grabbed around the back of his neck and pulled him back to her, and now, Tanya was right, they were snogging.

_Meanwhile_

Sirius carried Claire to the Marauders' room and laid her down on his bed pulling a chair next to it, he grabbed her hand, just like when they were in the hospital wing. She stirred slightly and gave his hand a small squeeze before the peaceful expression returned to her countenance.

"Claire, why did it have to be you?" he asked, pulling the Marauders' map from his pocket and looking at it. There were practically no people at Hogwarts, but there were the teachers, Snivellus, and a few others. Words appeared on the page as a small teardrop fell form his face and hit the map, absorbed instantly by the bewitched paper.

_Mr. Padfoot would like to remind himself that the lady before him was poisoned on accident._

"WHAT!" screamed Sirius, looking at the map.

_Mr. Prongs would like to tell Mr. Padfoot that the Marauders see all, even from the perspective of paper._

"Tell me what's going on, guys," he demanded.

_Mr. Moony will tell the story. The poison was placed by a few Slytherins when The Marauders had their backs turned and the glasses of punch were placed in a line on a table. The didn't take the time to figure out whose punch they were spiking with poison, but they wanted to do in Lily Evans or Mr. Prongs, either one would've been fine with them._

Sirius roared with rage, his thoughts going through a spin cycle of Lily, James, and finally…Claire. She was not the intended victim, Lily and James were. Claire snapped awake when she heard this outburst and turned over, looking at the red-faced and furious Sirius. Seeing her scared expression, his face softened and he sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked frantically.

"You weren't the intended victim. The Slytherins again…they were trying to kill Lily or James. Lily was gone after because she's a muggle-born and James was only attacked because he stood up to them and helped Lily. I am going to kill those stupid little bloody bastards."

"Calm down. The important thing is that those two are safe and now we know who to kill when we get back to school," sje said convincingly. "Now, let's just rest, it's vacation and we need some rest if we're going to take on a horde of Slytherins when we get back."

"Okay," he sighed, trying to calm himself down. "But you are going to die and it is for no reason," he remembered.

"Lily and James are safe though," she reassured him.

"I'd rather no one died," he said softly, tears slipping down his face, not tears of sadness, but of overwhelming. He sat down at the foot of the bed and Claire flopped down silently onto the pillow, still very delirious from her episode and fell to sleep instantly.

_Meanwhile_

They were getting out of the pool. It was after three in the morning and they had done nothing but kissed and snogged the entire time, but it was romantic in its own way. They decided to go back to the boys' room to play cards for a while and were walking back, trying not to laugh. They went into Sirius's room, about to wake him up when they saw Sirius and Claire on the bed together, sleeping. Sirius's arm wrapped around Claire's waist, much like how James had been found in the hospital wing after the attack on Lily. Claire had an expression of pure bliss on her face and wasn't moving at all. Sirius was perfectly content looking as well. They decided to just grab the cards and slip out silently, going into the sitting room and playing some poker as quietly as they possibly could. Lily and Tanya had changed back into their clothes already, having conjured them form their room and changing in to the boys' bathrooms. The guys had changed in their rooms while the girls got dressed. When the girls came out, their hair was dripping wet, but Lily had managed to get most of the smeared makeup off of her face.

"I have an idea," said James conspiratorially. "Let's go wake up Sirius and we can play some strip-poker." Lily gasped, having already lost her top in the pool on accident, she didn't want something like this to happen again. Tanya seemed fine with it, being the least modest of the group. Lily knew automatically that Claire and Sirius would be fine with it, but she didn't know about herself and Remus. After some constant begging from James and Tanya, Remus agreed, but Lily was still a bright red and was shaking her head violently.

"Hey, I'm the only one who'll ask you to take something off, okay? I won't be mean, I promise," he promised. Lily blushed again and nodded, but didn't say anything. They all snuck back into Sirius's room and poked Claire on the forehead. She rolled off the bed and Sirius looked around, his wand raised.

"Calm down, mate," said James with a grin. "We were gonna play some poker, but only if you two played."

"What kind?" asked Sirius, automatically into it if it was gambling.

"Strip," smiled James. Sirius looked astonished for a second and then agreed quickly. Claire was perfectly okay with the plan too. They made the agreement that whoever lost the most had to walk a lap around the ship in what they were wearing (or lack thereof) when the game ended. They all agreed and the game began. Lily was the first to win, James very surprised at that.

"James," she said with a smile, "shirt." James did what she said, smiling, and pulled off his shirt.

"Wow, Lils, you don't waste time," said James with a smirk. Claire won the next round; she had always been good at poker.

"Sirius," she said, smiling, "shirt." The boys were detecting a hint of conspiring where the girls were sitting. James knew Lily was good at poker, having spied on her once, playing some of the best in their year and winning every game. He was hoping she'd at least pretend tonight. The next time, a male finally won, and it was James.

"Lils," he said, smirking and laughing inwardly. "shirt." Lily pulled off her shirt, a pink bra underneath. She blushed furiously. The game continued like that for hours until everyone agreed that it was far too late – five in the morning, to be exact – and the girls had won almost every game. The won that had lost the most was Sirius and all he had on were his boxers. Lily was sitting in her chair wearing a pair of panties that matched the bra she had on, James still had his socks and his boxers, Remus had his shoes, socks, and pants (Tanya was a terrible gambler), Claire was wearing a yellow thong and a white bra and Tanya had on a pair of skimpy underwear, but still not a thong, and her shirt and bra. Remus had definitely gone easy on her, seeing as he made her take off her shoes, socks, hair tie, and finally her shorts. Sirius didn't seem to mind much, considering that they didn't know what time it was and thought people were still asleep. So, he stepped out of the cabin after letting his friends out their clothes back on and noticed the sunrise being watched by half the occupants of the ship, including certain people from school. He turned to go back in, but the other five stood in the doorway, fully dressed.

"It was the deal," said James with a laugh. Sirius groaned and began to walk around the deck, receiving whistles from some of the teenage girls (Claire was making a very angry face) and looks of horror from adults, children, and other guys. When the humiliation was finally over, he came back into the room and put his clothes back on, his face and ears as red as they had ever seen them. He looked like he would die right then and there. After that, they all went back to their own rooms, sleeping until about three that afternoon.

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A/N: Just wanted to end this chapter with some fun…maybe making the very emotional, very angering and extremely sad things end with a little funniness and let it go out with a bang. This was my longest chapter, I'll have you know, so I expect some long reviews and a lot of them. Well, that's it for this weekend I think. Aren't you proud of me, I did four chapters in two and a half days. So, you know what to do, and tell me what you think, really, I'd like to know. I guess this was the chapter where the teen rating really comes in, huh?


	21. Letters From Home

A/N: I might just get this done during the week…who knows. Well, got my laptop today (Monday) and it's like hand me down, there's marker on the screen and the keys and gunk on the mouse, how pathetic is that and my pic ID is terrible looking because I am NOT photogenic. Oh, just an FYI, since school started, there'll be a few complaints in here about how it SUCKS, but meh, it's school, what can we do, we need it. I just have four more years of high school left, being a freshy and all. Ahh!

So, now Tuesday has come and gone and my laptop is defective because for some reason it won't get the email I sent to it with like a tone of pictures from this computer so I am like about to kill it. My friend Morgan almost got detention today for forgetting her stupid student ID and for all I know, they're worthless. Stupid school. Oh, and you know a really stupid rule at my new high school. You can't call the cafeteria a cafteria, but the Dining Hall and the library isn't the library, it's some word that we can't even pronounce starting with an A. I had algebra today and I swear I could have killed myself, and History, that was a whole other story. Goodness gracious, this week is getting off to a crappy start!

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The rest of the week went by pretty much with this schedule for Lily. (They had gotten a first class room the next day upon James and Sirius and Remus's request)

Wake up, shower, dress, eat after meeting everybody in the by the pool.

by the pool for a while (like an hour or two) with Tanya while Sirius and Claire take a walk and Remus and James splash them just to see their faces when they freak out because the water's so cold.

Walk around the boat with everyone.

Lunch with everyone

Ballroom parties for the kids and teens (yeah, everyone was there too)

Dinner with…EVERYONE

Random funness with, you guessed it, everyone

Sleep…all alone, no, there was nothing going on in that aspect, I swear.

Of course, Lily, with her fair skin was burned to an excess the first day, but, convinced that it would fade to tan, she kept doing it for the first week until James told her she looked like a lobster and she realized that it was beginning to hurt when he hugged her. Claire laughed a lot about that one. Tanya, of course, just tanned until she looked completely Spanish and if she had an accent, they could make her look like she came from Spain.

So, Sirius and Claire grew closer every single day after that, and nothing would ever wrench them apart. Sirius still hadn't told James about the Lily and him conspiracy of the Slytherins, and he wasn't sure if he would, but at the same time, he knew he had to. Lily and James weren't safe at the moment. He decided to wait until they were about to go to sleep to tell him.

"Prongs," he began nervously.

"Huh?" asked James, picking up the map and stowing it in his suitcase.

"The poison that is killing Claire…it…it wasn't meant for her," he said, his voice shaky.

"Padfoot, what are you talking about?" asked James, seeming to be worried about his friend due to the sadness and fear in his voice.

"The poison was meant for Lily or you. The Slytherins put it in one of the drinks when we weren't looking, the catch was that they didn't know which drink and just put it in one of them."

"WHAT?" roared James, his friendly disposition completely gone in an instant.

"You heard me, Prongs, I was just as mad when that stupid map told me."

"You mean this whole time, Claire's been suffering because someone made a mistake, wanting to do me or Lily in?"

"Yeah," said Padfoot slowly, taking in every word like a bullet to his heart.

"We have to kill your cousins, sorry, but it must be done, Padfoot," said James solemnly. This was one of the few times that James wasn't joking, that he meant every word that escaped his mouth except for sorry. "Not to mention Snivelly and the Lestrange brat and the Malfoy kid."

"I know, believe me, I know," said Sirius. "But, let's just enjoy the vacation we have, it'll be easier that way so we can relax and get our strength up and then terrorize them."

"Good idea, Pads," admitted James. "I'm tired, so I' be getting to sleep, night."

"Night," said Sirius with a yawn, going to his bed. That night, neither Sirius nor James slept well, constantly thinking about how Claire was suffering when she wasn't even the target. Surely the Slytherins had known Claire was poisoned and Lily and James weren't, so why didn't they say something? Obviously they would have the best alibi in the world by not even coming forward to admit to the crime and there was no way of tracing it back to them, they were too smart to let it be traced. Still, it seemed unlikely that they would go to such lengths for some reason.

"Morning," said Lily brightly, kissing James on the cheek before grabbing his hand and they went with Claire, Sirius, Remus and Tanya to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Why are you so happy?" asked James, not being able to fake a good mood after what he had found out the night before. That, and there were only two days left until the cruise was over and then they would be going back to their own homes for Christmas and New Year's and then back to school. The worst part about it was that they wouldn't see each other for a week. That's the longest they'd been apart the entire school term so far.

"It's Christmas in only a few days…of course, we'll be apart for celebrating, but I can't wait for you to see what I got for you!" she replied enthusiastically. "Well, at least, I thought we'd be spending it apart until I got this letter from my mother." She handed it to James and he had to have read it over about three times before actually believing it.

_Lils,_

_If this owl gets to you, it'll be a miracle, it was a terrible thing for me to try, after al. This poor bird has to carry a letter to you, and, to reward it, when it comes back, I'll be giving it some chocolate. Well, to the point: as I was leaving the port a few days ago when I dropped you off, I met a very sweet lady by the name of Mrs. Potter, James's mother. We had an great thought that we would do something a little spontaneous and fun, and so, you'll be going home with them for the rest of the break and staying at their house. It was perfectly fine with your father and the Potters would be happy to do it. They said they cannot wait to finally meet you after all that James has said about you. I'll miss you and I'll see you at the end of your term, write me during school this term, please, Lils. Tell the girls I say hi and that we'll miss them too. Petunia has different thoughts, but what do you expect from her. Well, I hope you're having fun with the boys…but not too much fun. I'll be posting your gifts to the Potters' house. Love you and miss you._

_Mum_

_P.S. Mrs. Potter and I discussed some possible solutions for James's hair problem, and we think we may have some up with something._

"Lils, this is greater than…oh my gosh Lily, this is going to be the BEST Christmas holiday ever," he said, reading the letter for a fourth time to make sure it wasn't lying.

"I know, everyone gets to come, so no one will be alone, isn't it great?" she asked, now even more perky than before.

"Uh…yeah," he replied sarcastically.

"What's going on?" asked Sirius, walking up behind James with his arm over Claire's shoulders. Lily noticed how different Claire was beginning to look. Her face had become slimmer and the dark circles under her eyes got worse with each passing day. Her hair was beginning to become more wild than normal, still the naturally straight, blonde hair, but somehow more dull than before. The color of her skin was beginning to drain as well. The poison was beginning to show its effects. Lily tried to act as though nothing was wrong, though.

"The girls'll be staying with till the end of break," said James, now completely awake.

"Really?" asked Remus, appearing with his hand in Tanya's.

"Yeah, Lily's mum's just sent the letter," said James, handing the paper to Sirius.

"Your mother really thinks that the owls have something better to do, doesn't she?" Lily nodded with a grin. "Hey, Prongs, did you see this postscript down here?" James took the paper again and read the bottom line.

"Your mother is crazy, nothing is fixing this hair," he said, handing it to Remus and Tanya this time.

"I know," sighed Lily.

"Lils, this is great, we can spend the rest of the winter with them!" shrieked Claire happily.

"Oh, don't you think I know that by now? James, is your mother alright with cats?" asked Lily, looking back at the door to her cabin where Moonstone was still asleep.

"She should be fine with a cat as smart as her, but who knows. She really does like cats though, so don't worry. What's strange is…we don't have any cats," replied James thoughtfully.

"That is a bit odd," replied Lily. "So, we're going back in three days…is there anything we wanted to do before we left?"

"I have a good idea," said Sirius mischievously.

"No," said Lily, without even listening.

"Lils, I am hurt," said Sirius jokingly.

"Oh yeah, sure. Anyone else have an idea so that I don't have to listen to his?" she asked, pointing to Sirius. No one spoke, but that was only because everyone wanted to hear what Sirius had to say. Lily sighed and looked to Sirius.

"Okay, first, we pull a few pranks on Lucius and Narcissa, you know, just for kicks and because they are a bit deserving of some wrath form us right now. Then, we throw the biggest teen party this place has ever seen. Everyone between the ages of thirteen and seventeen are allowed in, okay?"

"I think it's a great idea," said James. He was sold at the beginning though.

"I like it," said Claire.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Remus.

"Sweet," said Tanya happily.

"Fine," conceded Lily, obviously losing the whole majority rules thing.

"Yes!" shouted Sirius. "Alright, ladies and Remus, get to work setting up the party, please. James and I will take care of the Slytherin idiots, okay?"

"Fine with me," said Lily with a grin. She loved setting up parties after the success of the Halloween party under the supervision of her and James. The girls took off back to their room with Remus in tow. Lily saw James and Sirius go the opposite direction, and rolled her eyes for the millionth time since she starting dating James.

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A/N: I hope you guys are really proud of me because I did this even when I had homework and so I finished this chapter in two days and I also did my homework and all that other crap that I hate doing. So, aren't you excited about the partay! I know I am…don't worry, nothing formal so no dress pics anymore, I promise. I love that last line, I think it's so cute (if I do say so myself). You will not believe it…I rained for the first time in like two months today in Texas (where I live) and it was just great. Okay, so read, review add me, you know the whole kitten-caboodle (I think I'm using the right terminology there, but if not, let me know so I don't do something else idiotic). Oh, by the way, you guys rock for all those nice and long reviews for the last chapter, so, thanks a ton!


	22. The Next Level

A/N: So, it's Wednesday and I have something amazing to tell you guys. This is the hundredth page this story is taking up on Microsoft Word. Isn't that amazing. We made 100 pages. Alrighty, I got a review from a very kind person and to answer her question I live in Plano. You know who you are, so moving on to the next point. So, today I found out in my theatre class about the amazing fundraisers we're having and one of them is a masque dance like 3 days before Halloween. Oh, these fundraisers are for the trips to Corpus Christi for the Thespian convention there and for the trip to NYC for e fun little workshops and all that will pretty much rock. Oh and I had to go to the tech people because my laptop was all screwy and I couldn't send email and yet I could get email from other people. Weird huh?

Wow, it's Thursday already, how time does fly…NOT! So, nothing really pivotal happened today, and I'm okay with that, and I'm sure you are too because that means I have nothing to complain about in the least bit! Yay! Oh, and I'm thinking of doing an alternate to this story and it starting out rocky and ending okay and then doing a prequel with Lily and James in their sixth year, wanting to kill each other just to be funny. Tell me if you think that's a good idea because I want to know what you think. Also, I will do a sequel for after school, that's a definite sureness. In fact, I've already started working on it. I also want to do an alternate one where the two have a more rocky start.

Oh, Friday has come at last, bet you were looking forward to it more than me. Well, I had biology today and Morgan and I were singing Christmas songs in the middle of a lab, it was pretty interesting. We sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer very animatedly, making up our own moves and what not. It was fun, I must say.,

Disclaimer: Sadly, I only own the names you don't recognize. HP belonghs to JK Rowling!

To everyone who says I'm a good writer, I love you like so much, in a friend and grateful way! So thanks everyone for the amazing reviews

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The next day, James followed Sirius to the room where he knew the Malfoy kid was and they proceeded to fill out a prank they had been planning on Snivellus when they got back to the school. It was a classic, something he once played on Lily that got her the angriest he'd ever seen her back in sixth year. She had gotten her first detention that day and it was totally worth it. She had come so close to hitting him that it wasn't even funny, and nothing would've stopped her if McGonagall hadn't appeared. They went to the kitchen and found some giant slugs. Who keeps giant slugs in the kitchen. Anyways, they levitated them above the door and Sirius knocked, running away as quickly as he'd come. Narcissa and Lucius came out, both with their hair a mess, obviously having been enjoying themselves, and James waved his wand and the slugs fell on top of them, soaking their hair in the goop form the trials. It was green and slimy and it made their white-blonde hair look greasier and slimier than usual. James bit back laughter and Sirius whacked him in the arm, pointing to the rock on Narcissa's finger. It was an engagement ring that was the size of her thumbnail and glistened like a star. It was the biggest diamond James had ever seen in his entire life. They ran away, not wanting to say anything about what they saw and realizing that Narcissa and Malfoy were getting married made Sirius Malfoy's cousin-in-law. It was too terrible to put into words at the moment.

_Meanwhile_

Lily, Remus, Tanya, and Claire had sealed the door to the ballroom and placed a fake sign on the door saying a dungbomb had been released and the place needed fumigation as quickly as possible. No one even bothered to try and get in with something like that on the door. Lily was conjuring streamers form her wand and they were pinning themselves to the wall. By the time they were done, the ballroom looked more like a club than a ballroom could've ever looked. They had conjured a few things and made tables around certain areas, expanded the room so that it was still the same on the outside, but once you walked in, it was two stories and had a dance floor as big as the original ballroom. Claire had been passing out fliers all afternoon to anyone between ages thirteen and nineteen. Lily refused to tell her why they had used the most beautiful girl on the planet as a walking billboard, and really didn't want to. Remus and Lily had found a band that was on board and had agreed to do it if Lily request that Dumbledore let them play at the next dance that was held. Lily knew exactly what to do.

Seven o'clock rolled around and about a hundred people were lined up outside the ballroom. At precisely seven, Lily flung open the doors and everyone rushed in, the band began playing, and food appeared on the tables. Lily went to sit down at one of the tables when James walked in with Sirius. Tanya, Lily, Claire, and Remus were sitting at one of the tables and they walked over to meet them, sitting down with them.

"So, did you boys have fun today?" asked Lily, kissing James once before waiting for the answer.

"Very much so, but we received quite the fright, I must say. Malfoy and Narcissa are engaged, how disturbing is that?" asked Sirius, placing his arm around Claire immediately while Remus and Tanya were kissing next to them.

"Eww, that means that you and him are cousins…eww," said Claire, shaking her head in disgust.

"You think I don't know that?" he asked sarcastically. Just then, a tall, nineteen-year-old boy walked up to the table. A slow song was playing and he was looking at Lily.

"May I have this dance?" he asked smoothly. He was gorgeous, to put it mildly. He had shaggy, blonde hair that fell almost into his eyes and a built and muscular frame, but not bulkily so. He had crystal blue eyes that were almost as beautiful as Claire's, but Lily felt no attraction to him whatsoever. She didn't feel like being rude though, so she looked to James. He was standing now, about to kill the guy.

"James, sit down," she hissed, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back to his seat. James wouldn't budge. "James, just one dance, I don't want to be rude," she said, with a smile to the boy. James, I don't want to be rude to…" she looked to him, expecting a name.

"Anthony," he finished for her. "I used to go to Hogwarts too, Hufflepuff."

"I thought I'd seen you before," said Lily, looking back to James. He nodded once, a smile never creasing his lips, but his eyes were soft and comforting slightly. James looked back to Anthony and his face became a glare. Lily stood up and walked around the table and followed Anthony onto the dance floor. It felt weird, dancing with someone other than James, and she didn't like the feeling. Anthony and Lily were dancing to the slow song almost too close for her comfort. His hands were slowly wandering down her back and she would grab his arms and move them up every once in a while to make sure he didn't try anything. He talked to her kindly, telling jokes, and she laughed. Lily could feel James's eyes boring into her back as he watched. Then, Anthony surprised her by bending lower, close to her face and whispering some suggestive tings in her ear. She stepped back away form him, throwing his hands off of her waist.

"You idiot!" she said angrily. "I have a boyfriend who is in love with me. You bastard." He didn't look phased by this angry performance, but moved back to her, touching her cheek.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, come on," he whispered. Lily backed away; shaking her head and throwing his arm away form her face and the other away form her backside.

"You ass, stop it!" she said spitefully.

"Come on, come back to my cabin for the night," he whispered. Lily, by now, could see right past his gorgeous exterior. She grabbed his hand twisted it, pushing him away from her. He clutched his wrist in his unhurt hand and stepped back to her, grabbing her wrist.

"You're coming with me," he said forcefully this time. Tears were beginning to form in Lily's eyes. He had taken out his wand with his urt hand and was pointing it at her. "Now." Lily shook her head, trying to back away, looking for some way out. It all happened so quickly then. A fist flew from nowhere and hit Anthony in the face, hard. Anthony staggered back, his nose bleeding and apparently broken. The person turned back to her, it was James.

"You okay?" he asked softly. She nodded, tears streaming down her face. James nodded and looked to Anthony, who had attempted to strike James, but James dodged it and struck a blow to the side of Anthony's face. Anthony staggered back and looked to Lily.

"You bitch," he muttered, before turning on his heel and walking out of the ballroom.

"Come here," James whispered, placing his arms comfortingly around her shoulders and looking her over quickly to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry," she whispered softly, her strength almost failing her from the traumatic experience she had just been through. James was supporting most of her weight as he guided her form the ballroom and back to her room. He took her to the table in their sitting room and sat her down in one of the chairs. She wouldn't stop crying.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly again. She nodded.

"I…I was so scared he was really going to…force me," she whispered, looking down at her hands folded across her lap. "I was so scared, James. I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, if anything, I do, for letting it go that far." She looked back up at him, her face glistening form the tears, her emerald green eyes portraying so much emotion and he was hurting just looking at it. He hated seeing her cry; it depressed everyone else just to see it. She wiped the tears form her face with her arm and looked up to him, something had changed in those last few minutes. It seemed like a new level of their relationship was reached at the strangest times. Shivers went down her spine just looking at him. James went rigid for a split second, tipping Lily off to the fact that he felt exactly the same. His hazel eyes still held a hint of rage, but there was comfort in his face over everything else, and what was more…love.

They both stood up, James's hands going to the sides of her face as he kissed her, both of them backing up against the wall. Her hands found his hair and she was running her fingers through it as one of his hands went up against the wall and the other to her waist. Her tongue darted into his mouth for the smallest second and James's eyes flew open, meeting her equally surprised ones. It was like they weren't even in control of their own bodies anymore. Her hands moved inside of his shirt and she felt the contours of his chest, his mouth moving to her neck, sending shivers up her spine that were stranger than she had ever experienced with him. His hands were back to her face. He kissed her neck, his hands moving to her red hair and mussing it up terribly. When she finally realized that things might go further than she was ready for, she pushed him back and would have backed away herself if it wasn't for the dumb wall.

"Too much?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Not yet, but I don't ever want it to be," she whispered, moving onto her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek.

"I understand," he said softly, taking a strand of her hair and tucking it back behind her ear. "I love you, Lily."

"I love you too," she whispered. "It's been a busy night and I am really tired, and as much as I hate to leave, I really should go, Claire and Tanya will be wondering where I'm at if I'm not at the room when they get back. We're leaving tomorrow, huh?" James put his hands in his pockets and his shoulders became all hunched up, like a guy does when he's nervous or it's a tense or awkward situation.

"Yeah," he said softly, kissing her before opening the door for her to leave. Lily knew, form that point on that she had definitely found "the one" she never wanted to be apart from James…ever again. He was too…perfect. She walked back to her room in silence, cursing herself for not fixing her hair when she was in the room and tapping her head with the wand. It went back to the soft waves she normally wore. She opened the door to the room and it was empty, Tanya and Claire must still be at the party. She changed into her pajamas and drifted off to sleep quickly, but it was a nervous sleep, one that she couldn't relax with. She knew that James was going to be her husband one day, and the surges of electricity and the shivers that went between them showed her that. They were perfection.

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A/N: So, I just got back form a party myself…it is about midnight in Texas and I am wiped out tired. I'll have another chapter up tomorrow with way less weekly complaints that you've probably come accustomed to by now. Don't forget to tell me what you think about the whole prequel and sequel thing in the top author's note, okay. I really want ya'll's input because I've already starting writing the first chapter of both of them. So, tell me what you think. Oh, and I haven't even started the alternate seventh year, so tell me whether you think it's a good idea or not. Love you guys, read, review, you know what to do!


	23. Snow Day

A/N: wow, I actually have nothing to say if you guys read the last author's note…the first one on the last chapter. If you didn't read that, go read it please.

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That morning, the ship pulled into the harbor and there was a black limousine waiting around the corner. James knew his mother would be waiting for them there. The six of them grabbed their suitcases and stepped off of the boat, meeting Mrs. Potter at the foot of the stairwell. She kissed Lily on the cheek for no apparent reason and stepped back, examining them.

"Tut, tut, tut," she said softly. "Look at you six, you're skin and bones, you need some meat on those bones, come, come on now, we mustn't keep the aurors in the ministry lime waiting." Lily laughed to herself at the mispronunciation of limo, but dared not do it openly. Mrs. Potter had dark brown, wavy hair and hazel eyes. She was slightly plump and a bit short. She wasn't what would be called fat though, but hearty. She had a sweet-looking face and a smile as wide as the Grand Canyon. She seemed like one of the sweetest people Lily had ever met. Mrs. Potter had levitated their trunks and Lily was holding Moonstone in her arms as they followed her to the limousine. They scrambled into the back and the aurors up front loaded their gear into the trunk.

"How do they know how to drive?" Lily asked James.

"They don't," he said softly. "The cars drive themselves." He was about to kiss her when Lily took a glance at his mother. Then, James thought better of it himself. This week might end up being harder than they'd expected…having parents around them all of the time.

"So, darlings, introduce me, please," suggested Mrs. Potter to her son and the other two boys.

"Oh, uh…Mum, this is Lily…she's my, um…girlfriend," said James, sounding unsure of the wording himself. Lily had never really considered James her boyfriend ever since they fell in love, but there was no term for that really.

"Mrs. Potter, this is Clara Martin, but she goes by Claire, said Sirius, recovering after a glare from Claire. (Hey, I just rhymed.)

"This is Tanya Bolanos, but just call her Tanya," introduced Remus.

"It's great to finally meet you all. Now, Claire, you say you're from the Martin family, purebloods, yes?" Claire nodded, feeling a pang of guilt and sadness for not being able to admit to the home she came from. True, they had money and plenty of it, but she was ill-treated, and she would give all the gold and all the pureblood she had to have a real family.

"Well, we're not ones for blood purity in our family, right, Sirius?" asked Mrs. Potter.

"Yeah," said Sirius, looking to Claire with a meaningful expression on his face. He was holding Claire's hand on the seat and their fingers were intertwining themselves. Claire whispered something in his ear and he nodded, looking back to his adopted mother.

"And, Lily, my son tells me he's taken quite a fancy to you." Lily had to stop herself from laughing.

"I should hope so," she said, looking to James with a grin spread across her face. James had his arm around her and they were smiling to each other. Lily hadn't even told Tanya and Claire what happened the previous night…the new level of a relationship they'd come to, and James hadn't told Sirius and Remus either.

"Yes, yes," said Mrs. Potter, now looking to Tanya. "So, Tanya, may I ask your heritage, you look…well, like our family doesn't come here and I detect a small hint of an accent in your voice."

"Well, ma'am, my father was from Spain and my mother was British and they married. My father was a juggle and my mum was a witch, she went to Hogwarts as well in her youth. She met my father because he owned the restaurant next to her dance studio in Spain and they've been in love ever since."

"What a lovely story," gushed Mrs. Potter. Tanya smiled up at Remus, who also had his arm over her shoulders. The girls had decided a long time ago that they liked Mrs. Potter; she was a very nice lady. They pulled up to a small house in the countryside and got out. Lily took one look and fell in love. It wasn't quite a mansion, but a beautiful Victorian house surrounded by forests and a lake in the back. Everything was covered in snow and the lake was frozen.

"It's great huh, Godric's Hollow?" asked James, walking past Lily and pulling her suitcase out of the trunk. He grabbed his own, the cat still in Lily's hands as James carried both suitcases into the house. Claire and Sirius were carrying their own and Tanya and Remus followed. When they got inside, James's hand immediately found Lily's and they were in contact once again, a shiver melted both of their spines. Claire and Sirius were holding hands as well and Remus's arm was draped over Claire's shoulders.

"This house is beautiful," said Lily in an awestruck voice.

"You think so?" asked Mrs. Potter. "We're leaving it to James when he comes of age and is out of school…he gets the house and we'll be moving further out into the country to grow old…we're too old to be fighting Dark Wizards anymore, the two of us." Lily looked Mrs. Potter over once more, she was probably in her mid to late forties, small flecks of gray hair in her brown waves. Then James's father appeared from the kitchen. He had black hair and hazel eyes; of course, his hair was neat and trimmed, unlike James's. He was wearing a good-natured smile and looked to be very content and in his mid to late forties as well. Lily took her hand and placed it into James's hair, messing it up even more just for show.

"Hello, girls!" said Mr. Potter happily. He looked like he'd just been cooking, for he was wearing an apron.

"Hi, Mr. Potter," said Sirius with a wave of his free hand. "This is Tanya, Claire, and Lily." He gestured to each of the girls with his free hand.

"So, I see, how are you six doing, was the cruise fun, did you behave yourselves?" asked Mr. Potter.

"Of course, dad," said James with a smirk to Lily.

"Undoubtedly," said Sirius with a grin at Claire.

"We always do," said Remus, raising his eyebrows.

"Indeed," said Mr. Potter sarcastically. He knew his son and his friends better than that.

"Now, girls, I've been making dinner all day for Christmas Eve, and I hope you like our cooking. He gestured to the Dining Room where a large turkey, ham, and pork roast occupied the center of the table with a white tablecloth draped over it. Around it were peas, green beans, corn, broccoli, and asparagus (Eww!). Them there was fig pudding, chocolate pudding, cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, and other delicious looking desserts. Their mouths began to water.

"That's amazing," said Sirius, drawn immediately to the food. Mrs. Potter grabbed his hand to keep him from devouring the entire dining room.

"It's not time yet, dear," she said, patting his hand and turning back to the rest of them. "I'm sure you have your own traditions for Christmas, girls, do share. We do this every year. Sirius shares a tradition, James a tradition from his childhood, Harold from his childhood and one from mine. So, now that we have guests, we should definitely get started right away because there are so many people this year. Remus, dear, how about you go first."

"Um…well, every year we go and play around in the snow for hours or until we freeze," he said unsurely. Mrs. Potter nodded and gestured to coats that had just appeared on their coat rack, six of them.

"We are far too busy with dinner right now, dears, we may join you in a bit have fun though," said Mrs. Potter softly. James looked at the coats, each had a name on the sleeve. James's was red with gold trimming on it. He put it on and it was amazingly warm. All of the sudden, his pants changed into snow pants and were the same colors as the coat.

"Thanks, mum!" said James happily.

"It was no trouble dear," she said, waving her wand in the air. Lily grabbed the coat with her name on it. It was an emerald green that brought out her eyes amazingly with a turquoise trim. Her shoes changed to turquoise boots and her skirt became pants. Claire looked on the rack and picked up the baby blue one with the navy trim and her clothes changed to match as well. Sirius grabbed his, a dark blue with black trim and his clothes changed. Remus's was a forest green with ivy green and Tanya's was purple with pink. They grabbed sleds that were sitting out at the door and a pair of ice skates for each. The boys refused to use ice-skating skates and grabbed the thicker hockey skates.

"Mrs. potter, my cat…" began Lily.

"We'll take her up to your room if you just leave her here, dear," said Mrs. Potter kindly. Lily dropped Moonstone to the floor and she began to canter over to the dining room, but she stopped short, something was stopping her from going in there. She hissed at the invisible barrier and walked to Lily's suitcase, sitting on top of it and purring softly, going to sleep immediately. Lily rolled her eyes at her cat's laziness and then went back to James's side. When they went out the back door, it was snowing again.

"This is beautiful," Claire gasped.

"It's never like this in Spain," said Tanya.

"James I love your house," said Lily, looking up at the sky.

"So, when we get married you won't mind living here?" he joked. Lily looked at him with a playful grin and pushed him, making him fall to the ground, but he grabbed her arm and she fell on top of him, their lips just inches from each other. It seemed much warmer than it had been a second ago. She kissed him, making shivers travel the lengths of their spines and then got up. James got up too. Claire kissed Sirius and Tanya kissed Remus. Wow, they'd started a trend, huh?

"I say we go ice skating," said Claire happily.

"Okay," came four agreements. The only one who didn't say okay was Lily.

"I'll just stay here," she said.

"Oh no you don't," said James, grabbing her arm and towing her towards the lake. He tapped her feet with his wand and the skates appeared there. (Shh…I know he's an underage wizard at the moment, but we'll just pretend otherwise). He tapped his own feet and the skates appeared and then everyone else did the same thing. (We're still pretending here, okay).

"James, I can't skate," said Lily in a distressed tone.

"Then I'll teach you," he said with a grin. Lily knew that grin, it was mischievous and she didn't trust it. He picked her up and carried her over to the ice, letting her down on her feet when he hit it, He grabbed her hand so she wouldn't fall and told her how to place her feet. She did what he said and slipped, falling on her butt despite James's attempt to keep her on her feet. He heaved her to her feet and made sure she was okay. James turned to face her, both of his hands in hers. He was going to skate backwards and she forwards. Maybe this would work better. He began backing away and lily's feet glided over the ice. She was biting her lip and looking nervously down at her feet every five seconds.

"Look at me," coaxed James. "Don't look at your feet, that's how you fall." Lily lifted her head with much difficulty and kept her eyes locked to James's so that she wouldn't look down. She felt strangely at ease every time she looked into those eyes. Claire and Sirius were getting along oppositely. Claire was trying to teach Sirius how to skate and he caught on very quickly. Tanya and Remus were perfectly fine, holding hands and skating with more ease than professionals. Tanya could even do the jumps and the spins. It seemed like Lily was the only one having trouble. After about an hour, she was doing it on her own and James only had to hold her hand. She had stopped falling and she was fine.

After skating, and turning their skates in for boots, Lily rolled up a piled of snow and hit James smack in the face with it.

"Oh, Evans, don't you start that," he said, picking up his own snowball and throwing it at her. She ducked and hid behind one of the trees. "Come one, boys, what do you say we give these girls some snowball fighting mania?"

"After all, I am the champion," said Sirius.

"True, but we need all of us to beat them, they're faster," said Remus.

"We can disguise better, though," said James, referring to his stag form.

"Let's go," said Sirius, that mischievous grin planted on his face. Claire bolted towards the forest where Lily and Tanya had already fled. They each grabbed snowballs off the ground and the girls ran deeper into the forest, getting their own stock and hiding in a small gully where they were safe from all angles except up and behind. They stocked up the snowballs in a pile and conjured (still pretending here.) a bucket, malting about a pound of snow in the bucket and making ice water to dump on them. If they got hit with that, they were done for. Claire levitated the snowballs above her head and stepped from the ditch, looking for the boys. She saw a huge dog come out of nowhere.

"Aww, look a puppy who thinks I'm a total idiot," she said, the levitating snowballs throwing themselves at the dog's face. The dog turned back into Sirius and he fled, wiping snow from his eyes. "Ha, take that!" she yelled after Sirius. Then a snowball zoomed from nowhere, hitting her in the side of the face. "Who the…" She ducked; another snowball zoomed from her left. She dove back into the ditch.

"What's wrong, you had him I thought," said Lily, looking worried.

"They're coming from nowhere, someone was at my left throwing them from the darkness and I couldn't see them," said Claire, looking above her. Lily levitated her own snowballs and crept silently from the ditch, going to her right and circling around the point Claire was talking about. She heard sharp breaths from behind her and turned around to see a large, male deer not a foot away from her face, its breath visible in the cold. It looked so majestic.

"I'm not dumb you know," she said softly. The stag lowered its antlers at her. Something was wrong. "What're you doing, James?" she asked suddenly frightened. Then she saw the eyes, they were a dark brown, almost black, not hazel. She had just met a real, untamed, and inhuman stag in a forest she had never been in before. The stag scraped the ground with its hoof and looked like it was about to charge at her. Lily was immobilized with fear, too frightened to even reach for her wand. The stag snorted and a large breath came from its nostrils. Lily couldn't move, it was trying to make her leave, but she couldn't. Then, she heard another snort from a different direction. Another stag was standing behind her. _Oh no_ she thought. I'm done for. She looked at the stag behind her and something was different about this one. It had a soft expression and hazel eyes. It wasn't as big as the other one though. Lily drew in a sharp breath.

The larger stag toed the ground again and snorted at the other. The hazel-eyes stag lowered its antlers and charge the other one, Lily jumping out of the way. The large stag, unprepared for this attack, didn't have a chance to ready itself. It moved to the side, James turned around and charged it again, the older deer lowering its rack of antlers and they connected. Lily could hear their antlers creaking as they fought. The hazel-eyed deer gave one snort and pushed with all its might and the older deer was thrown backwards and darted away into the darkness of the forest. The remaining stag shook its head as an indication for her to get onto its back. Lily grabbed the stag around the neck and pulled herself up with much difficulty, even with the stag bending down to the lowest it could go without being unable to get up. It stood up to full height again and Lily brushed her fingers along its neck as she sat on its back.

"Thank you," she whispered into its ear. She had known it was James from the moment she saw it, and he rescued her from dying for another time. He was her guardian angel. The stag snorted a happier sound and began running from the forest. Lily wrapped her arms around the stag's neck, as though hugging it. The feeling was exhilarating, the cold wind stung her face as she sped through the forest on the stag's back and the wind rushed past her, her red hair billowing behind her and flying into her face when he would turn sharply. They emerged from the forest and the stag bent down again, allowing her to get off. She jumped down and brushed the stag's snout as he changed back into James. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He was a bit shocked at first, but then he placed his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. She had been frightened just then; more frightened than she might've ever been before, and he understood that.

"Lily, you're fine now," he whispered into her ear. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes, something was there, more than comfort and love, but concern for her safety…she realized that it was always there. She kissed him softly and he kissed her back. He grabbed her hand and walked her back up to the house where everyone was waiting. They all looked concerned.

"I'm fine," Lily said softly, smiling up at James who smiled back.

"You sure, Lils?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, I'm good," she said calmly.

"Ran into a real wild animal and mistook it for me and it nearly took her apart limb from limb," said James with a laugh.

"Good thing he showed up then, huh?" asked Lily. "Or that deer would've killed me."

"Come on, I'm starved," said Sirius, standing up and walking to the back door.

"You're always starved," said Claire with a roll of her eyes. They came inside and their clothes changed back to normal as soon as the jackets were taken off, they were even dry. It was nice to be inside with warm clothes on again.

"Time for dinner," called Mrs. Potter from downstairs as they sat in their upstairs living room playing BS. Lily had won most of the games with her glare. A few actually broke down and looked exactly like the liars.

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A/N: Yummy…dinner. That's where I'm going right now. Hey, would ya'll being awesome and go read the prequel I've been working on? You don't have to, but I thought it was pretty funny myself. Anyways, read, review, you know the bit!


	24. Thunderstorms

A/N: You know, I really would appreciate it if you guys would read the prequel because I like writing it and I really would like more reviews for it, so please, please review it. Oh, and this chapter just came to me because there is a storm on progress outside my bedroom window, so, yeah. Oh, and if you're one of the people who caught me screw up on the last chapter where I accidentally wrote Claire instead of Tanya...sorry, but if you didn't catch it, don't look for it, I'm embarassed enough about that as it is.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter but the stuff you don't recognize, okay?

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The rest of break was amazing at the Potters' house. The food was delicious and they followed every tradition. They sang Christmas carols for Lily and opened one present each on Christmas Eve for Claire. For Sirius, they strung garland throughout the house, and Tanya asked that they call Santa "Papa Noel" (that is a true tradition from Spain, just a little add in there), and James asked that they made a fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce for dessert on Christmas Day. James parents had the entire tree decorated on Christmas Eve. The gifts were amazing. James was given a new broomstick from his parents, the fastest one yet: A Silver Arrow, and Lily had given him a servicing kit for it. Sirius had bought him a moving figurine of a stag that actually walked around and snorted, and Remus bought him a new scarf. James had given Lily a book of love poems and a few novels and guides to complex spells, needless to say that Lily loved them. Tanya had given her some muggle movies and Claire bought her a moving phoenix figurine that actually burst into flame and was reborn once a month. Her parents had bought her some candy to take with her back to Hogwarts. And it went on like that, a wonderful day and New Year's eve was even better. When the countdown was over, Lily was able to lay a huge kiss on James's lips and they were laughing as they kissed. It was one of the cutest things that could have ever happened. The ride back from London to school was tiring and Lily slept most of the way, on James's shoulder of course. The temperature had begun to rise earlier than usual and it was already in the high forties when they got back to school.

It was the first day back, Sunday, classes started the next day and Lily was sitting in the common room curled up by the fire. The snow was beginning to melt with the rain that was pouring down outside the common room window. Lily was the only one still awake, most of them went to bed early after the long train ride from London, and she watched the rain. No one knew about this, no one knew that Lily loved watching storms, especially thunderstorms. She heard the crash outside and turned in the chair to see out the window. A flash of lightning followed the jolt and her heart skipped a beat and a shiver slithered down the length of her spine. It reminded her of being with James, that's why she loved it so much. She stood up and sat on the windowsill, just looking out at the sky. It was dark, of course because it was so late, and clouds covered every inch of it. Raindrops were sliding down the window as another jolt of thunder and a clap of lightning shook her and made her jump.

"What are you doing down here so late?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around to see Sirius there.

"Just watching the storm," she said, looking back out the window.

"You like thunder and lightning storms?" he asked skeptically. She nodded, still looking out the window. "Me too, they seem like a great way to think."

"What did you come here to think about then?" she asked softly, turning around to face him. He was standing behind her, hands in his pockets and looking meditative.

"Claire, mostly. About what life will be like when…" he stopped. No one could ever bring himself or herself to say what her fate would be anymore, it hurt too much.

"Yeah, that's sometimes what I think about," said Lily softly, still looking at Sirius. "Usually I come to think about me though…about what I want to do with my life when I'm out of school. I really want to be a healer, actually, but I don't know if I'm smart enough."

"Lils, you're the brightest in our year," he said, his tone assuring. "Plus, after seeing what you did to help James that night Moony tore him to pieces, you seem like you would be a good healer."

"But those were Muggle methods, Sirius," she said softly and yet sadly.

"You are the best at potions I have ever met, maybe…maybe you should work at St. Mungo's in the center for Potion and Plant Poisoning." She looked at him thoughtfully.

"Wow, you've gotten really good at cheering people up, Sirius," she said thoughtfully, standing up and giving him a friendly hug.

"No problem, Lils." He let go of her.

"And on the upside, I might be able to keep the same thing that happened to Claire from happening to other people." Small tears filled the corners of her eyes and she shook her head angrily. She didn't want to think about that.

"Yeah. Look, maybe you should be alone to watch the storm, I'm tired anyway, see you in the morning, Lils." He went up the staircase, looking back at Lily once, small tears in the corners of his own eyes. Lily wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her sweater and looked back out the window.

"You know, we have classes tomorrow," came a different voice about five minutes later. She turned around and James was there.

"I know," she said with a small smile. "So, why are you up?"

"Because Sirius said you were awake and something was bothering you." She turned to look at him, a flash of lightning revealed moist lines down her face from a few fresh tears. "Hey, hey," he said, placing his arms around her shoulders and cradling her close to him, she buried her face in his chest, automatically losing it (See, when people try to comfort me, I do the same thing, I just get worse). "What's this about?"

"I…what am I going to do? Claire…she's…like four months," were the only words James could understand through her sobs.

"Okay, okay," he said, stroking her hair with one hand and the other wrapped protectively around her, holding her to him. "Calm down. What if she saw you like this? You need to make the most of the time we have left, okay?" He saw her nod the smallest amount.

"Where would I be without her…she was the first person in this place who ever was nice to me?" asked Lily, tears still streaming down her face.

"You still will have Tanya and me and Sirius and Remus," he said softly. "And, if all else fails, there's Peter." Lily let out a small laugh, her smile crinkling her nose a bit.

"James, I love you so much, don't ever leave me," she whispered to him.

"I know, I promise…I won't ever let anything happen to you again. I would have to die first," he said softly. "I love you, Lily. Nothing can change that. Come on, I think it's time you got some rest." He stood up, pulling her up with ease by the hand.

"I know what I want to do," she said when she was standing.

"What?" he asked, sounding confused.

"After school, I know what I want to do," she said calmly.

"And what's that?" he asked, pressing his forehead to hers as she smiled at him through her teary eyes.

"I'm gonna be a healer in the Potion and Plant Poisoning center," she said softly. "I wanna help people, James, and I think I can stop the same thing from happening to people that happened to Claire."

"I think that's a great idea," he said slowly. He kissed her goodnight and she went up to her dorm. As she walked past a sleeping Claire, she couldn't help a single tear finding its way down her cheek. She limbed into her bed and tried to clear her head of everything that had found its way in. She wanted to go sleep; she wanted a fresh start in the morning. So, why couldn't sleep find her, why was it being so elusive tonight.

Lily woke up tired and weak. When she wasn't at breakfast, James went to look for her. She was curled up in her pajamas on the common room couch. Her face was pink and she was shivering, but the fire was burning and crackling loudly. She coughed a loud and raspy cough that echoed through the common room.

"What's wrong?" asked James, sounding concerned. She looked up at him, dark circles framing her beautiful eyes. He went to sit next to her, placing his hand on her forehead. She was extremely hot and her face was sweating furiously.

"Lils, you have a fever," she said quietly. She shivered and coughed again. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the hospital wing where Madam Pompfrey had healed her within a few minutes and she was fine.

"You had me worried there, kid," said James as they walked to first period class.

"She said it was too much exposure to the cold over break, you wouldn't have any idea why would you?" she asked sarcastically, punching him in the arm lightly.

"Of course not," he lied, placing his arm around her shoulders. He kissed her on the cheek and they entered Defense Against the Dark Arts. He sat in his normal seat in the back with Remus, Sirius, and Peter. Claire, Tanya, and Lily were in the row in front of them. Lily was writing hr notes when something hit her in the head, a small piece of paper fell onto her notebook. She turned around, James twiddling his thumbs innocently with a guilty expression on his face and not looking at her. She turned around and unfolded the paper. Claire and Tanya each had one too.

_I hope you're ready for another Christmas present, be waiting by the window in the common room at eight, okay?_ She turned around and looked at him, he winked and she smiled. She looked to Claire and Tanya and theirs said the same thing. They shared a suspicious look and then looked at the boys who were pretending to listen to the lecture from the teacher. Lily kept asking James to just tell her what was going on, but he refused. She even went so far as to ask Sirius and Remus to tell her, but nothing. By the end of the day, she was aggravated. The boys weren't at dinner and they weren't in the common room afterwards.

"What is going on?" asked Claire, sounding extremely suspicious.

"I don't know, Remus wouldn't tell me a thing, said Tanya, equally angry.

"Why can't they just tell us?" asked Lily nervously. They looked up at the clock…it had just struck seven.

"Isn't there…oh my gosh, Quidditch practice," said Claire angrily. "Why wouldn't they tell me?"

"I don't know…maybe because you're getting sicker day by day," said Lily jokingly, but inwardly crying.

"Well…argh, you just don't do something like that, I can still play in the games and we haven't had practice for months, that's ridiculous!" she shouted angrily. Lily went up to the common room and grabbed a few things. She got Claire's book "Quidditch Through The Ages," her own novel, and Tanya's letters that were sitting on her bed.

"Look, let's try and keep ourselves busy until eight," said Lily, handing her friends what they owned. Lily read the book silently while Claire tried to concentrate on the history of her favorite sport and Tanya read the letters she had received from home. They kept looking up at the clock, anxiety filling their eyes. When the clock struck eight, they ran to the window, Claire grabbing a pillow to throw at someone. Lily flung open the window and was shocked by what she saw.

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A/N: Haha, I am the evil cliffhanger lady, I know. Read and Review please, I'll get the next chapter out before next weekend, I promise!


	25. The Accidents

A/N: So, it's Tuesday, I was out last night and I had a ton of homework tonight, so what gets done tonight is all that's done tonight, the rest is for tomorrow. Oh, and my school got its drug dog today, it's a chocolate lab named Zoë and it is the cutest thing. Some kid got busted on the first day, how sad is that? Oh, and Thursday I will have probably no time whatsoever to work, don't know, just letting you know. Alright, I know this cliffhanger is killing you, so here goes:

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_Last Time: When the clock struck eight, they ran to the window, Claire grabbing a pillow to throw at someone. Lily flung open the window and was shocked by what she saw. (Oh, and just as a side note, Claire has practically my personality, of course my parents are totally cool, and I'm not dying, but this whole flying thing is something I really wish I could do, flying is something amazing to me, and I am person who is really smart, and yet say and do the dumbest things because I have no common sense. Not to mention the attitude I have. Also, I don't look like Claire. Oh, and the whole really outgoing thing is me too, but she's way more mellow than I am.)._

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Three figures were swooping towards them on broomsticks. Lily groaned, another ride for the girl more afraid of heights than of anything else. _Oh no, they each have their own in their hands_ thought Lily. _This is going to suck._ James stepped into the common room through the window, but almost fell out because of the pillow that hit him in the face. Had Lily not been holding his hand, he would have fallen out.

"Claire," scolded Lily.

"Sorry," she shrugged, not sounding apologetic in the least bit.

"This time, Lils, you get to learn on your own. You haven't done this for like seven years, so I want you to learn, same goes for Tanya. Claire and Sirius plan on going by themselves, possibly racing, who knows?" explained James, winking out the window to Sirius. Claire stepped onto the windowsill and grabbed the broom out of Sirius's hand. She smiled to her friends before jumping out the window, sliding the broom between her legs and soaring upwards faster than a bird. Sirius smiled, seeing the best chaser on the Gryffindor team in action for the first time in months, and they both took off. James handed Lily a broom, it was his old one, he was riding the one his parents had bought for him. Lily placed her wand inside her book as a mark. James's wand was sitting next to hers and Sirius's and then Claire's and Remus's and then Tanya's all in a row.

"You really expect me to do this?" asked Lily in shock. James just nodded with a large grin across his face. He was definitely setting her up for this one. "You've got to be kidding. Can we at least start somewhere where if I fall, I won't die?"

"I guess," muttered James, taking the broom from her and grasping the handle of his firmly in one hand and gesturing for Lily to get on in front of him. She obeyed and they flew to the ground together.

"Same goes for me," said Tanya with a nervous look on her face. Remus took her to the ground and they got ready to learn to fly.

"So, what first?" asked Lily nervously.

"The basics," said James. He laid the broom next to Lily on the ground. "Hold your right hand over it and say up, firmly though." Lily held her hand over the broom. Next to her, Tanya was doing the same thing, and as soon as she said it, it went right into her hand, surprising even her.

"Up," she said forcefully, but the broom wouldn't budge. James stepped behind her, placing his hand overtop of hers gently and softly.

"Say it again," he whispered into her ear.

"Up," she said, shivers running up and down her spine. The broom immediately zoomed into her hand. James moved back around to her side. "That's not fair, you tricked it," she objected. Anything to keep her on the ground.

"Nah, just a bit of an extra push," said James with a shrug.

"Now what?" asked Lily nervously.

"Mount it," said James in that 'duh' voice. Lily swung open leg over the broom and held it there. James mounted his own broom and took off, hovering only about five feet above the ground. "Now, push off lightly and hover in the air for a bit."

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked angrily. Tanya was already hovering for about thirty seconds, laughing loudly.

"Just push off with your feet and hold the handle steady while you're in the air. I'll catch you if you fall, don't worry." She pushed off about twenty feet into the air, hovering there, but losing her confidence as soon as she looked down and plummeted to the ground. She heard James mutter a swear word and swerve his broom underneath her, letting go of the handle and catching her. "You can do better than that," he said softly, kissing her on the cheek. He flew to the ground with surprising speed, especially for not having a hand on the handle. He dropped her on the ground next to her broom, or his broom. "Come on, try again," he coaxed. Lily groaned.

"It's too hard, I'm too scared, I can't do it," she said angrily. James raised his eyebrows and then landed next to her.

"You are hopeless," he said, kissing her lightly and then mounting his own broom farther back than usual. Lily raised an eyebrow this time and James gestured for her to get on in front of him. She smiled and then climbed on, not so much afraid of heights after what had just happened. He pushed off and they zoomed into the air, Lily clutching the broom while James's arms were wrapped around her body as he held to the handle.

_Meanwhile_

As Claire and Sirius zoomed off towards the forest, Claire got a miraculous idea.

"Come on, I'll race ya," she said with a huge grin. It had been too long since Claire got to fly, it was her favorite thing in the world, something she could never replace. It was the best high there could possibly be, and she always craved more. She loved the feeling of the wind through her hair and brushing her cheekbones softly and tickling her nose as she went as fast as a hundred miles per hour. It felt like nothing could catch her or hold her back form anything she wanted, she could have everything and anything in one easy step, it was like a drug for her, a very addictive and very appealing drug. It was the only time she ever felt free, the only time the weight of the world couldn't trap her and the only time she didn't have to worry about anything. (Believe me, I can't explain it to the fullest either, this is a mellow description to how Claire feels.)

"You think I'm an idiot?" asked Sirius incredulously. "Claire, you fly almost as fast as James, you were the runner-up seeker in tryouts in second year. I can fly nowhere near as fast as you can."

"I'll go easy on you, I just want to be free again," she said, looking up into the sky as though talking more to herself than to Sirius.

"Claire?" asked Sirius after she didn't speak for a while and held this soft expression looking at the clouds as the breeze tickled her cheeks.

"I…I love flying for a reason. I get angry when I can't for a reason too. I can't truly explain it in any amount of words…I just love it more than anything, except you of course," she said, looking to Sirius, her expression so soft that tears could be seen in the corners of her eyes. "I've been off a broom too long, that's why I've looked so down lately, I've been missing something." Sirius's expression became instantly harder and he looked at her, a sad touch to his eyes.

"I don't want to tell you this, but there's a good chance you won't be able to play if Pompfrey sees your health getting worse," said Sirius thoughtfully.

"Then we won't let her _see _it get worse, will we?" asked Claire with a smile. "This trip…it will bring back the color in my face, the dark circles beneath my eyes will disappear, I'll look better again, I promise." Sirius smiled and she looked back up at the sky. "Of course," she said, her voice misty again, "If I can go to full speed, it'll help way more."

"Alright, but first, since I haven't seen you play for a long, long time, I want to see if you still remember some of your great moves," said Sirius with a smirk. Claire raised an eyebrow and was then gone in an instant. She soared into the air as high as she possibly could with the enchantments that had been placed on the castle, and dove back down, doing a flip and pulling out of the dive right before she hit the ground. Then she flew in a straight arrow, turning her broom over so that her back was to the ground and she was looking up at the sky. She then turned herself back over and darted back to Sirius making an almost impossible turn. "Okay, well, you've just embarrassed me," he laughed.

"Come on, we have to race," she said with a smile.

"I have gotten better in your absence though," said Sirius with a smile. Claire gave him a disbelieving look and then yelled.

"GO!" she shouted, and they were shooting towards the forest. Claire started out slow. "First to the edge of the forest and back wins," she yelled over the wind in her ears. Sirius nodded and shot forward. "Hah!" she laughed, pulling in front of him easily, lifting a hand to wave and then darting away. She flew over the forest and Sirius watched her in amazement. He was probably going eighty and she was so much faster. James usually went about one-ten at best, so she was pretty close with him. Just then Sirius saw something coming at her from the forest, she dodged it, but in the maneuver she took, she lost her balance and the broom had flipped her over without her having a good grip. Sirius shot forwards to get her, but by the time he reached her she lost her grip to fast and fell into the trees. Sirius sped down into the forest and caught her just about three feet before the ground. He didn't pull out of the dive in time though and the handle hit the ground, sending the two of them flying across the forest floor. They were both knocked out instantly.

_Meanwhile_

Lily and James were flying over the west side of the forest (Claire and Sirius were on the East Side) and Lily shifted her weight slightly, but enough to throw the broom off and out of James's control. The broom slipped out form under him and fell as they fell, but Lily passed out from fear as she fell and James passed out as soon as he hit the ground and neither of them saw what direction the broom had landed from them. And that is how the two most popular couples were stranded in the Forbidden Forest.

_Meanwhile_

Tanya and Remus were sitting in the Gryffindor common room. Both of them were wondering where their friends were. They should've been back by now.

"Where are they?" asked Tanya impatiently, beginning to worry. It was past midnight and they had left the common room to fly four hours ago. Remus turned to the window, hearing something that Tanya did not.

"Sirius and Claire are somewhere in the forest. Something shot Claire down and Sirius went to save her, but he didn't pull out of the dive and they hit the ground," he said, listening intently out the window.

"How did you know that?" asked Tanya with an eyebrow raised.

"Sirius can change into a dog, I'm a werewolf, I have a vague understanding of the messages between our species and that's the gist of what he was barking at me. I have a better sense of hearing than you do too, even in my human form. And you and I both know Sirius is one loud guy," explained Remus. "We should go and find McGonagall." Tanya nodded and they left the common room. They escaped the tower, running frantically to find their head of house and they found her, patrolling the halls. It was, after all, very much after hours.

"Professor, we think that Lily and James are somewhere lost in the Forbidden Forest and we know for a fact that Sirius and Claire are trapped there," explained Remus frantically.

"I see, and how do you know this?" asked the Professor. Remus pointed to the incisor (canine tooth) inside his mouth and McGonagall nodded. She needn't know that Tanya, Lily, and Claire, not to mention Sirius, Peter, and James, knew about his condition.

"Well, this is a bit out of my hands, we shall go and see the headmaster then?" asked McGonagall. It wasn't a question though, it was an order. She took them along the corridor to where the giant stone gargoyle stood. "Fizzing Whizbees," she said. The gargoyle leapt aside and Tanya watched in awe as it opened up a moving staircase. Remus grabbed her hand and guided her along the staircase as they went up. Remus knocked on the door.

"Come in," they heard a serene voice calling. Remus opened the large wooden door and led Tanya inside where the instruments and the crackling fire, and most of all the phoenix stood welcoming them. And, at his desk, sat Professor Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, sir," began Remus. "Our friends are probably in grave danger. We know for a fact that Sirius and Claire are trapped in the forest and we believe James and Lily to be there as well."

"I see…well, we will send out a search party at once. Do they have their wands with them?" asked the headmaster. Tanya and Remus looked at each other, their wands were left in the common room. James didn't want his to break in case of an emergency (he was teaching Lily to fly a broom, it definitely could happen), Lily didn't want to lose hers. Sirius never brought it with him flying, and neither did Claire. Tanya didn't want hers lost and Remus didn't want his broken. All the wands were sitting in the common room.

"No," groaned Tanya.

"Well, then there's no way for them to find their way back here to show us some sign of where they are, now is there. Looks like this should be an experience for them, especially Mr. Black and Mr. Potter and Ms. Martin because they all grew up with magic," explained the headmaster. He no longer wore his usual expression of softness and kindness and complete calm that smile that never seemed to fade. He had a small bit of worry etched on his face and it looked as though he truly was concerned for their safety. "But, I will send the party out tonight, and I think it's due time you two went to bed, now isn't it?" They nodded and walked out of the office after wishing the professor a goodnight.

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A/N: Uh oh, James and Lily, Sirius and Claire are all trapped in the forest, what is going to happen to them. Muahaha another cliffhanger, I am so evil! Read and review and check out the prequel because I worked hard on it! It can be gotten to through my user page, so use that if you want to, but just read it!


	26. The Scent

A/N: I know, I suck for giving you guys two cliffhangers in a row, but at least no one like threatened me this time, that's good, let's move along now:

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Claire groaned and rolled onto her back, not opening her eyes. It felt like someone was torturing her, every part of her body was sore and nothing was a dull pain, but it was sharp and terrible. She opened her eyes and was staring up at the forest. She tried to remember what had happened the previous night and it all flooded back to her.

"Oh my God!" she yelled, shitting up too fast and hurting herself even more.

"Calm down," came a voice form behind her. She turned her head slowly and Sirius was sitting there listening closely to something Claire couldn't hear.

"What's going on?" she asked in a whisper.

"I sent a message to Moony a while ago and I'm waiting for a reply," explained Sirius calmly.

"What shot me?" asked Claire, suddenly angry.

"Not sure," Sirius whispered.

"Lily and James, Tanya and Remus, where are they?"

"Tanya and Moony are at the castle, I've been communicating with Moony for about an hour now. He can understand my dog speak and he yells back, seeing as I have sensitive ears, I can hear him as a dog. Lily and James aren't at the castle, Moony suspects that they're somewhere in here too."

"Do you know where we're at in the forest?" She waited anxiously for the answer she was afraid of, wondering and fearing. Sirius knew these forests better than anyone but the other Marauders. If he didn't know where they were, all hope was lost.

"No," he said calmly. "I can try my best to get us out of here though. I leave trails when we come in here every month, scratching up the trees as marks of where I've already been. No bears live in the forest, so I don't have to worry about them scratching trees too." Claire nodded and pulled her legs against her body, shivering slightly. She was only wearing a pair of jeans and a thin, long-sleeved shirt.

"You cold?" asked Sirius with concern.

"A bit," she said quietly.

"Here," he said, pulling off his jacket and draping it over her shoulders. It was the same jacket he had given her on the ship and it still had a small hint of her perfume on it, but more evident was his cologne. She inhaled his scent and felt at peace for the first time in a long time.

"There's one good thing about this though," she said softly, not really talking to him.

"What's that?" asked Sirius sarcastically.

"We're together…it's definitely better than being alone and if I had to chose to get lost in the wilderness with someone, I would definitely choose you." Sirius blushed and looked across the forest, listening intently for any sign that would take them back to the castle. He looked back at her and saw her expectant face.

"Thanks, I feel the same way too," he said softly before looking up at the cloudy sky. If there was going to be a storm, they had to find some kind of shelter.

"We should find a place to go," said Claire, looking up at the sky as well.

"You read my mind," said Sirius with a weak smile,

_Meanwhile_

Lily sat up and rubbed her head.

"Ow!" she flinched as her hand grazed a wet bump on her head. She pulled her hand away to look at it. There was a good amount of blood on her fingers. She crawled over to James lying unconscious, facedown on the ground. "James," she whispered, shaking him.

"Hmm?" he asked in a groan.

"James," she hissed louder. "James, get your lazy ass off this floor or I'll…I'll, well I don't know what I'll do, but just get up." He waved his hand in the air as if swatting a large and annoying fly. Lily pushed his arm down and smacked his face, not too hard, but enough to get his attention.

"What!" he asked in surprise, standing up in a one, bumbling motion that almost knocked the kneeling Lily over. "Where are we, Lils?" he asked, looking around. He held out his hand and she took it as he helped her to her feet. She looked around, and James caught a glimpse of the back of her head.

"Lils, you're bleeding," he said in a concerned voice.

"It's nothing," she said, turning to face him again. "I think we're in the Forbidden Forest, James," she said, her voice now anxious.

"Yeah, you threw off the weight on the broom and we lost our balance and fell. The broom went somewhere, but I didn't see where it went. It's a miracle we didn't hit branches," said James in an accusatory voice.

"So, you're blaming it on me?" she asked, surprised by his accusation.

"Maybe," said James rudely. He didn't truly mean that and he knew he didn't. He was angry he had put Lily's life endanger again and he was mad at himself, not at her. It truly wasn't her fault. Lily shouldn't have moved and James should've had better control on the broom or they would've never fallen in the first place. Lily turned away from him and began to walk in the opposite direction. James grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him so that she was pressed against him. She was trying not to smile and he could definitely tell.

"You know I didn't mean that," he whispered into her ear. Shivers traveled up and down her spine. How could he have this much control over her? She sighed and looked into his big hazel eyes and then rolled her own.

"I know," she groaned.

"Alright, well, we have to go this way," said James beginning to walk to the right.

"No, it's this way," said Lily, going in the opposite direction.

"Lils, I come in here once a month, this is one of Sirius's trails right here," said James, gesturing to one of the trees with the claw marks.

"James, I've read Hogwarts: A History over twenty times, I know every map of this forest, I can get us out by getting us to a path," said Lily assertively.

"Oh really?" asked James, still a but snappish.

"Yes, really," said Lily, growing aggravated.

"Have you ever been in the forest though?"

"Well…no, but I know this forest like the back of my hand."

"And I've come in here more than you could ever imagine. I knew where every single path is in here."

"Fine, you go your way and I'll go mine," said Lily.

"Lils, I can't leave you alone," he objected.

"I'll be perfectly fine, I have my wand…oh my gosh!" she exclaimed.

"What is it?" asked James in anxiety.

"My wand, I left it at the castle," she whined.

"Me too," said James, his tone now very solemn and worried. "We have to stick together then. I think we should go my way."

"How about we play rock, paper, scissors for it?" suggested Lily.

"Fine."

_Meanwhile_

"I can't believe this, they've been gone a full day now!" shouted Tanya in anger.

"Calm down, Tanya!" objected Remus.

"But, chinito (that's Spanish for sweetheart I think), I'm worried," she said. They were sitting in the common room, waiting for word from Dumbledore and Tanya was pacing anxiously in front of Remus whose eyes were moving like a cat's as he watched her.

"I know, I know, I'm worried too," said Remus softly. He hadn't heard a message from Sirius in hours and was growing anxious. Sirius hadn't found a single one of his trails yet and they definably hadn't found Lily and James. It was getting to be a scary time for all of them. Dumbledore's search parties had to be called off as well due to the storms coming in. The thunderstorm was predicted to be extremely violent and harsh in comparison with a typhoon. This was not going to be good.

"Why doesn't Dumbledore try harder?" asked Tanya exasperatedly.

"I don't know, hun, why don't you ask him?" said Remus sarcastically.

"I don't need that right now, Remus," she snapped.

"Sorry, it's just, respect Dumbledore, please. He's doing the best he can, you have no idea how great he is," said Remus.

"Okay," she said softly, walking back over to the couch and sitting next to him. She leaned her head against his chest and tried to fall asleep, it being like one in the morning and all.

_Meanwhile_

"Sirius, I'm starving," whined Claire.

"I know, babe, I know," he said softly, pulling her by her hand as she dragged her feet. It really wasn't fair if you thought about it. Sirius was oftentimes changing into a dog so he could have four legs to run with, but Claire was stuck with only two legs. She was still very sore and very tired, they hadn't slept since they woke up and it was the middle of the night for the second time.

"Have you spotted a trail yet?" she asked warily. She didn't want a negative answer and she was wary about it. It was getting worse and worse everyday as they kept on moving.

"Not yet, but every time I change into a dog, the scent of our paths gets stronger, so I'll follow that. And every time a wind blows towards us from the other side of the forest, I get the scent of James and Lily. I know now that they're in here," said Sirius, looking around. Suddenly, Claire's hand was empty and a large black dog was in front of her. She smiled and rubbed behind its ears. When she stood back up, the dog began sniffing the air, looking for some sort of sign. Then, it was a person again and Claire's hand was in his.

"Lily and James are this way, tha path is that way, what do you want to do?" asked Sirius solemnly. Claire deliberated for a moment. She wanted to get out of the forest and she also wanted to find her friends. James was an animal with an okay sense of smell, and he knew the forest as well as Sirius did, but they had less of a chance of getting out.

"Let's find Lily and James and get out of here after we find them," she said with a nod.

"I agree, let's go," said Sirius, beginning to walk much faster. Claire felt like Sirius was dragging her along by her arm within five minutes.

_Meanwhile_

Lily was riding on the back of a huge stag. After she had wandered off four times in a row, convinced that she knew which way to go and he didn't - even though he won rock, paper, scissors - James made sure she wouldn't get away from him anymore. She had a huge smile on her face and her arms were wrapped around his neck, keeping her from falling off. It wasn't a comfortable thing; as a matter of fact, it was very bumpy. She had tried so hard not to fall asleep though. She was exhausted and hungry and very thirsty. When James found a large stream in the middle of a clearing, he transformed back into human form and it looked as though he was giving Lily a piggyback ride. She stirred slightly and he smiled to himself, sitting down on the ground next to the stream and trying to uncoil her arms from him neck. When he got her off of him, she laid, faceup on the ground, a peaceful expression on her face.

James got a drink of water and then stepped over to Lily.

"Wake up," he whispered to her. She turned over and sat up, looking him straight in the eye.

"What time is it?" she asked, looking around with curiosity.

"About one in the morning. Last night a little after you fell asleep, I caught scent of Sirius. Him and Claire are in here too. I think we should go and find them," he said calmly.

"This is one thing I think we can agree on, and I think you know the way better than I do."

"So, it's settled then, we'll go d find them and we can get out of this forest," he said softly.

"Yeah, but we should rest first."

"You just slept for like five full hours!"

"I meant you," she said sweetly, running her fingers through his messy hair. In about an hour, Lily and James had fallen asleep in each other's arms, holding each other closely. It would have been adorable if they didn't look so pale and sickly from not eating or sleeping for two days.

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A/N: Sorry it took so very long to update, you have no idea how hard it was to get anything done the second half of the week. Well, review and stuff. Oh and it's a long weekend, that means more time for me to work, yay!


	27. Lost in Translation

A/N: Okay, sorry I couldn't update yesterday, I was supremely busy! So, let's continue and thanks to all the people who reviewed.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this except the stuff you don't recognize!

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"Sirius, are we closer?" asked Claire nervously.

"Yes, the scent is really strong," he said with a smile, after changing back into a human. Claire would have leapt for joy if it hadn't been that her feet hurt so much. She kissed Sirius on the cheek and they continued.

"How far d'you think?" she asked after about ten minutes.

"About a mile," he shrugged.

"Are you serious?" she asked happily. "That's it?"

"Yes," he said, shrugging again. It had been three days and they still hadn't found anything to eat. Of course, there were plenty of things running around that were edible, but with both of them being purebloods, how were they supposed to know how to make a fire? Sirius, of course, could eat raw meat, but there was no way he was going to let Claire starve and he not starve as well. She had protested, of course, but he wouldn't hear it. She was beginning to get sicker and sicker; and every once in a while Sirius would have to carry her on his back. She didn't like it, but it was the only thing he could do to keep her from passing out. They walked in silence until they heard something. Sirius changed into a dog and sniffed the air. He barked happily and chased his tail like a puppy. They heard a low, loud grunt from the other side, but it sounded happy. There were two female squeals of joy as a large deer and a red-haired girl stepped out of the brush.

"Lily!" squealed Claire

"Claire!" shouted Lily. They ran to each other and hugged each other. Sirius was jumping around and barking madly while James was turning back into a human. James scratched the fur behind Sirius's ears, and Sirius liked him on the face.

"Eww, Padfoot!" said James, backing away and flinging the drool off of his face.

"Sorry, guess I got a bit carried away," said Sirius with a shrug. The two girls rolled their eyes as the guys gave each other a brotherly hug and a smack on the back.

"We have been looking for you two for two days," said Lily angrily. Where were you?"

"We've been looking for you too. I guess we landed on the opposite side of the forest," said Claire with a grin. All of the sudden a huge clap of thunder was heard, a misty look grew in Lily's eyes as she looked up at the sky. Huge drops of rain fell all around them and another clap of thunder shook the entire forest. The birds took flight and disappeared in one sweeping motion. A bolt of lightning shot from the sky and almost hit one of the extremely tall trees. James grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her away with some great difficulty as she stared, open-mouthed, at the sky.

"Come on, Lils, we need to get back to the castle," he urged. She looked at him, her eyes narrowing with concentration. She nodded firmly and James became a stag. Lily leapt on his back and pulled Claire up after her. Sirius turned into a dog and ran ahead of them, constantly sniffing at the air. They ran for what felt like hours, the trees being struck behind them and bursting into flames. They heard frightened cries of animals and creatures.

"We can't leave them," said Claire loudly.

"There's nothing we can do now, Claire, we have to get our wands and warn Dumbledore first," said Lily angrily, clutching the fur on James's neck. Claire stayed quiet until they finally emerged from the cover of the trees and out onto the grounds, finally. They heard a loud shout of something Spanish from the Gryffindor tower and James and Sirius quickly became normal again. They ran through the grounds and climbed the stairs, saying the password and grabbing their wands while greeting Remus and Tanya.

"The forest is on fire," said James angrily. "The lightning won't stop hitting it and if we don't hurry, it'll burn down." Tanya and Remus grabbed their wands and they ran to the headmaster's office. They tore up the staircase and burst through his door.

"Oh, you're back," said Dumbledore genially.

"Professor, the forest is on fire, the creatures living there are in danger," said Lily with a worried expression on her face as she looked out the single window in his office.

"Well, that's terrible news," he said, picking up his wand from off the desk and walking to the window. He flung open the glass and pointed his wand at the burning forest.

"Aguamenti," he said quietly. A huge get of clear, crisp water shot from the end of his wand, dousing the flames of the forest. He said another spell with complicated arm movements and in a second, all of the trees were back to their original state and the forest was looking the same as always. The lightning and thunder had stopped and now it was simply raining.

"I don't care what anyone says," whispered Lily into James's ear. "He is definitely the greatest wizard of all time." James nodded, placing his arm around Lily. She kissed his cheek as they were about to exit the office.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, Ms. Martin, and Mr. Black are to stay here for a few minutes. Mr. Lupin and Ms. Bolanos can stay or wait outside if they prefer to do so," said the professor without breaking his warm smile. Lily and James took the two chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk and then Dumbledore conjured two more next to those as Tanya and Remus left. Sirius and Claire sat down in the two new chairs. "Now, I am sure you are wondering what shot you down out there, Ms. Martin."

"You know?" asked Claire with interest.

"I know very well, actually," said Dumbledore, still as smiley as ever. "The centaurs believed you were coming too close to their…habitat. They didn't want you too near to the colony. They aren't very trusting creatures, you see. Their best shooter can't match your flying skills though, Ms. Martin. This is why I have decided to allow you to finish out this year's Quidditch season. I know I shouldn't have favorites, but Go Gryffindor!" he said happily.

"Professor, you have no idea how much this means to me," she said, her eyes watering slightly.

"Oh, and your brooms have been located and are waiting in your dorms for when you get back. Also, it has come to my attention that the Graduation Ball is nearing and, seeing as our Head Boy and Girl are supposed to be in charge of it all, I hope you two are up to the task. I will offer no advice or guidance. This ball is for seventh years only, that is my only rule, and the usual nothing inappropriate as far as dress code, you can go in your pajamas if you two decide that's what's necessary. I hope you two have fun planning. Make sure the ball is ready by June First."

"Professor, can the prefects help?" asked Lily hopefully.

"Of course, Ms. Evans, of course. They can help, but they are to be given no ideas from this year, understood. You tell them what to do and give no hints. We want a different type of ball every year."

"So, Professor, we can do practically anything?" asked James with a grin.

"Yes."

"All right!" said James happily.

"You may go now. It's about dinner and I daresay you look like you could use some nourishment. But, please wash up first," said the professor. Then they left the office, hunger burning in their stomachs at the mention of dinner.

"James, this is great, we get to decorate for the ball!" squealed Lily.

"Yeah, too bad we can't help though," said Claire sadly.

"Oh, come on, Claire, you'll be one of the opening couples, how about that?" asked Lily, trying to cheer her up. Lily had already done this in her head. Head Boy and Girl were supposed to open the ball along with two other couples of their choosing. Lily wanted Remus, Tanya, Claire, and Sirius in the spotlight with them again.

"I guess," she sighed. "If I can go to the ball." Lily pushed that from her mind, and so did everyone around her. Claire wasn't looking for pity, she was thinking aloud, and she didn't mean to make everyone upset.

"So, I think we should get started soon," said Lily with a faux happy expression.

"I agree," said James smiling. "I think it should be formal, dress robes required."

"Definitely," said Lily happily. "And that band we had at the party from the cruise, I promised them I'd book them for the next Hogwarts event."

"Sounds good. Now, about the food…" James trailed off. They had entered the common room by now and Tanya and Remus were sitting on the couch, curious expressions on their faces.

"I am going back to the subject of dress. I think gowns and tuxedoes. How about you, James?" asked Lily, trying to get a yes.

"Sure," he said with a nod. "Moony!" he called.

"Huh?" asked Remus, turning away from Tanya, a lock of her hair intertwined in his fingers.

"Could you save us spots at dinner. We gotta wash up first, Dumbledore's orders," requested James.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon, amor (this time I'm sure, that's sweetheart in Spanish), let's go. Te quiero," he said softly. Lily looked to James confusedly. How long had Remus known Spanish?

"Y te quiero tambien," she replied sheepishly, poking his nose with the tip of her finger. Remus wrapped his arm around her waist and they walked out of the common room, talking in Spanish the whole way.

"Wow," said Claire after a few seconds. "Do you guys know what just happened?"

"No, do you?" asked Lily.

"Yeah. Remus told her that he loves her and she said she loves him back," replied Claire.

"How do you know Spanish?" asked Sirius.

"I learned it when I was younger," she replied with a shrug. It was the only thing she had, a Spanish textbook, in her room when her parents shut her in there. Sirius knew that, but the others just thought her parents had taught her. They went up to their dorms and took showers, dried their hair, got dressed and walked down to the great hall. Remus and Tanya were still speaking in Spanish.

"¿Tanya, por qué usted está hablando en español?" asked Claire. (Tanya, why are you speaking in Spanish?).

"He enseñado que Remus para hablar lo, Claire, y lo es muy bueno. Es más fácil para mí esta manera, de que es todo." She answered. (I have taught Remus to speak it, Claire, and he is very good. It is easier for me this way, that's all.)

"¿Así pues, qué usted dos ha estado hablando?" asked Claire. (So, what have you two been talking about?) Sirius, Lily, and James were changing looks of confusion at what they were talking about. Lily was curious. James was slightly bored, knowing that anything important would be revealed eventually. Sirius really wanted to learn to speak a language only he and Claire could understand so they could have secret conversations too.

"¡La bola de la graduación! Claire, soy así que excitado. Remus y yo podemos ayudar a adornar, el ver como somos prefects, y todo. ¡No puedo esperar para ir a hacer compras otra vez, él debo ser diversión!" said Tanya excitedly. (The graduation ball! Claire, I'm so excited. Remus and I can help decorate, seeing as we are prefects, and all. I can't wait to go shopping again, it should be fun!)

"¿Podemos ir de nuevo a hablar en inglés ahora, esto estamos consiguiendo fastidiosos?" asked Claire with a sigh. (Can we go back to talking in English now, this is getting tiring?)

"Si," said Tanya happily. (Yes.)

"Thanks," said Claire gratefully.

"So, Claire, what other languages can you speak?" asked Sirius with a grin.

"Practically everything. I know Portuguese, Korean, Russian, Dutch, German, and French," she replied happily.

"Vous parlez français?" asked Sirius with his grin still in place. (You speak French?)

"Naturellement. Comment savez-vous le parler?" asked Claire with some interest. (Of course. How do you know how to speak it?)

"Ma mère faite chacun de nous apprennent à le parler parce qu'elle envoie les enfants à Beauxbatons parfois," he replied with a shrug. (My mother made each of us learn to speak it because she sends the children to Beauxbatons sometimes.)

"Ok, arrêt avec les autres langues!" interjected Lily. (Okay, stop with the other languages) Lily could speak a few words in French, having had to start learning it in her Parochial school in London before she found out she was a witch.

"Très bien, Lis," said Claire. (Fine, Lily.)

"Thank you," she sighed. Everyone around the table laughed except for James and Remus and Tanya because they couldn't speak French at all and it we all very confusing about how Lily went from angry to good-natured so fast. It was a redhead thing though.

"Okay, so, we begin planning tomorrow and we buy our dress robes next Hogsmeade visit, okay?" assured Lily.

"Yep," said James. The rest of the table was nodding silently. After stuffing their faces so fast that Lily and Claire rivaled James and Sirius, they headed back up to the common room and each couple sat down on a couch. Lily and James took the one in front of the coffee table. Sirius and Claire were on the one facing Lily and James, and Tanya and Remus were in the one looking at the wall, but also facing the coffee table.

"Je t'aime plus que toute autre chose en ce monde," said Sirius quietly, taking back of his hand and running it along the side of Claire's face, from her temple, down to her jaw, and back up to her forehead again. (I love you more than any other thing in this world.)

"Le sentiment mutual," Claire laughed. (The feeling's mutual.)

"James, I love you so much," whispered Lily softly across the room, resting her head against James's chest. She felt instantly safe.

"I know, I love you too," he replied, running his fingers through her hair, sending shivers up and down her spine. Her heartbeat accelerated and her pulse quickened. Would she ever get used to this?

"Usted es tan dulce," whispered Tanya to Remus. "Usted aprendió el español todo para mí." (You are so sweet. You learnt Spanish all for me.)

"No era nada," whispered Remus, kissing her cheek. (It was nothing.) After a few hours of crazy discussion in every imaginable language from Claire, Spanish from Remus and Tanya, a bit of French from Lily, English from James, and French from Sirius, they all went upstairs and went to bed, so tired from the day's events that nothing was going to wake them up.

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A/N: Hey, I already have the dresses picked out for the ball, and I am so excited. It's going to be so fun, this ball! We got, say…five months until the ball. Alright, read, review and you guys are awesome.


	28. The Quidditch Cup

A/N: So, let's skip ahead a bit because I don't want to have to write out five months, so we'll summarize them, kay? Oh, and sorry about this being a really short chapter in comaprison.

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The next three months were spent doing nothing but planning. Lily and James were able to convince Dumbledore to let Claire and Sirius help with the plans as well as Tanya and Remus. They were the only six that were going to be doing anything for this ball, and it was going to be amazing. Claire was in charge of picking out decorations; Tanya was working on the guest list. Remus was up to the task of food. Sirius had to endure the commands of Claire on where all the decorations she put on hold in stores went in the room, drawing up a plan for it. James and Lily were, as they called it, supervising. They told the others what they were doing that was wrong and helped them to fix it. James claimed it was a very hard job! During this period of time, Slytherins were wandering into the hospital wing daily, with no recollection of how they had broken some bone or been hexed some way or another. I wonder who could have done that? It even seemed like the bruise under Lucius Malfoy's left eye would never go away.

When the preparations were complete, they relaxed, having a full two months before the end of term, and the Quidditch final looming ahead. Gryffindor was in first place, tied with Slytherin. They had to win by at least three hundred points in order to win the cup. Claire was definitely up to the task. James seemed much less cocky than usual, playing Slytherin, they had never won by that much before. Sirius was confident, as always, but he was guarded as well, worried about Claire. He couldn't spend the entire match flying next to her or following her, she would be offended, and she was an amazing flier, sick or healthy.

The fact remained though, that she was sick. Her face became more sallow as the days passed and her cheekbones were becoming visible as she talked. She was still the ravishing and beautiful Claire though, nothing would change that, especially in Sirius's eyes. Claire would be ravishing no matter how wild hr hair got and how dark the circles under her eyes were, how pale she became, and how thin her body becoming. She went to every Quidditch practice now, she was still the superb and amazing flier she had always been, but it seemed like she used more effort for it.

The next Hogsmeade weekend was looming ahead, the day after the match. Claire, they hoped, would be in good spirits when they went shopping for their gowns. As the weather became warmer, the storms began to blow in more frequently, constantly reminding poor Lily about her night in the common room, when it had truly sunk in the first time that Claire was going to die.

_Moving On_

Claire woke up feeling incredibly invigorated. She rushed to the mirror, her cheeks were slightly flushed, no longer the pale sour skin she had acquired from the poison. She was getting tanner from the months of preparation for this last Quidditch match. This was their last chance for Gryffindor to earn the cup, and she wanted to make it count. She ran to the bathroom, showering in incredible haste and pulling her wet hair into a ponytail after drying it with her wand. Lily was the first to stir in her bed by the time Claire had pulled on her crimson and gold Quidditch robes.

"Is it today already?" asked Lily, seeing the look of pure exhilaration on her best friend's face. Claire nodded, her grin spreading from ear to ear. Term ended June thirtieth – June fifteenth for the seventh years - and today was April thirtieth. There was only a month left and a half. Lily pushed this from her mind and threw her pillow at the sleeping Tanya, who rolled so far over that she hit the hard floor, falling out of her bed. Tanya shrieked in surprise when she hit the ground, having still been half asleep. The other two girls got dressed soundlessly. Claire was rushing them, definitely.

When they made it into the common room, the boys were already there waiting, Peter looked positively exuberant.

"What's got your knickers in a bunch?" asked Sirius, looking to Peter with one eyebrow raised.

"A really pretty Ravenclaw asked to sit with me at the game today," he squeaked. Lily couldn't help but feel proud of Peter for having is very first date.

"Who is she?" asked Sirius.

"Jenny Lawkins," he piped. Sirius turned around and cringed. Jenny was okay, a bit hefty (In other words, she was fat, like Peter, and really lazy and got really bad grades) for her age, but had a cute face. Sirius had never dated her in his years of trying to get every girl in the school to go out with him.

"Well, come on, we should probably get to the locker rooms," said James with some authority in his tone. Claire nodded, but Sirius looked worried, not about the match, but Claire, what if something happened today? His arm coiled protectively around her waist.

"Shall we?" asked Remus, holding out both of his arms. The two remaining girls took his arms. He smiled slightly. "Poor you, James, your girlfriend seems to want to come with me more," he joked.

"Ha, ha!" said James dryly. They left through the portrait hole. James kissed Lily on the cheek as she waved and wished him good luck in the game, He smiled a beautiful and perfect smile before heading for the pitch. Lily, Tanya, and Remus went the other way, the way that didn't lead through the locker rooms. They climbed the stands and sat down, watching the field. The game was starting in any second.

Gryffindor had won, won by two hundred points. Claire had flown beautifully, scoring one hundred of their points. Sirius scored about fifty of them, and James caught the snitch at the end. The score was 400 to 200, seeing as their other chaser had managed to score a bit too. Claire was exuberant, so excited about the victory and the Quidditch cup that was now held in James's hand that she kissed Sirius so hard that Sirius felt like collapsing under the pressure of it. Lily was so happy for James that she couldn't help but run onto the field right after the end of the game and plant a huge kiss right on his lips. It had felt like five minutes before Madam Hooch pulled them apart. Claire and Sirius, of course, were dancing happily around the field, their optimism unmatched by anyone but Professor Dumbledore who was smiling his usual serene smile.

"Claire I love you!" Sirius yelled over the crowd in the Gryffindor common room. They were all toasting with the Butterbeer that Dumbledore had allowed them just this once. It had been like a century before Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

"What?" she yelled back.

"I love you!" he said louder.

"Me too!" she yelled back.

"Huh?" asked Sirius. Claire threw her arms around Sirius's neck and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He held her there, a perfectly serene look on his face. Lily and James were next to them, James was running his fingers through Lily's vibrant red hair. The room had gone quiet and then someone tapped a glass with a fork. Lily looked around the room. Tanya had an innocent expression on her face, too innocent. Then, the rest of the room started tapping their glasses.

"What do you expect me to do?" asked Lily loudly.

"Kiss him!" came a voice from a fourth year. "Claire and Sirius too!" Claire and Sirius kissed for about five minutes, taking breaths in between. Their love was pure, but it was so much more physical than James's and Lily. Lily kissed James quickly, looking away, slightly red. James looked at her, eyebrows raised. She didn't look at him. He placed her face in his hands and turned it so that she was looking at him, and the, pulled her face to meet his and they kissed for a moment. When both couples had pulled away, everyone was clapping. Lily rolled her eyes and Claire laughed slightly, finally jumping out of Sirius's arms.

"Hey, everyone, shut up!" yelled Sirius loudly. Everyone was immediately quiet. "Alright, I just want to say that I think our captain should get a nice round of applause." James shot a thankful glance at Sirius as everyone in the room clapped.

"Alright, alright," James calmed the room by standing up on the table to get everyone's attention. "A captain is nothing without his team, everyone deserves a round of applause, including our amazing fans!" Everyone in the room screamed happily and shouted their approval. The common room was cleared of first through fourth years in a few hours, and then the fifth years began to disappear, and then the sixth, and then the group were the only people left (except for Peter, no one really knew where he was). Lily had fallen asleep, her head resting against James's chest, his arms wrapped around her as he kissed the top of hair.

Claire and Sirius were too excited to sleep, though, and were jumping up and down on the couch high-fiving each other as James, Remus, and Tanya looked at them with disapproval. Of course, the two didn't care one but. James was just worried about Lily waking up.

Tanya was sitting on the floor in front of Remus, his arms around her. She seemed at ease at least. Sirius and Claire didn't settle until all of the sugary cnady had disappeared, and it took a while for Claire to eat her half. When the sugar-high was over, Claire and Sirius collapsed on the very couch they'd ben jumping on. She fell asleep in his arms. In the end, all of them ended up falling asleep in the common room.

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A/N: It was a good day for them, I'm sure. Next chapter everyone gets to see the dresses! Yay! Of course, they are beautiful and way more formal than last time.


	29. Gowns

A/N: Oh, I have been working on a Twilight fic to anyone who read that book or New Moon which was incredible and very twisty, especially with the whole romanticide (suicide with romance tacked on at the beginning) Edward thing, that was a good word for it, anyway. **_The Dresses are up on my freeweb already, so check them out because they're gorgeous!_**

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James stirred slightly in his sleep and felt a hand coiled around his arm. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Lily resting against him. He smiled softly and looked at his watch. Merlin! It was already the next morning. He sighed and grabbed the nearest pillow, placing it under Lily's head and sliding out from under her, uncoiling her arms and brushing the hair out of her face. He looked around the room. Claire was sleeping, her head on Sirius's shoulder and his head on top of hers. Remus and Tanya had fallen asleep too, in each other's arms, how sweet. Must've been a tiring night for them to have not made it up to the dormitories in time.

As soon as Lily felt James move, she woke up too and stretched. Today was the day of the shopping trip where they would pick out there gowns; it was going to be amazing.

"Sleep well?" asked James's amused voice from the dormitory stairs. He had already changed.

"Yes, actually," she said playfully.

"What's all this?" asked Sirius, sliding out form under Claire as she woke up bleary-eyed.

"We fell asleep in the common room. Good thing McGonagall never showed up," joked Claire.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Remus, pulling Tanya to her feet.

"I think it's time we got ready for the trip, don't you?" asked Lily.

"Lily, you're right, I can't wait to get my gown," said Claire excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Wait, what?" asked Sirius.

"This is our last trip before the ball, we need to get our outfits for it. You were planning on wearing a tux, right?" asked Claire, turning to him.

"Oh, uh…yeah," he saved himself.

"Come on, Claire, Tanya, let's go change!" said Lily excitedly.

The girls were back downstairs and primped and ready in about an hour, which was practically record timing for them. They left the common room around ten, seeing as everyone was already down at breakfast. They decided to skip and get some lunch there. As soon as they got to Hogsmeade, they went their separate ways.

"I has to be a surprise!" said Claire excitedly.

"Yeah, I mean, we don't go around asking what your tux looks like do we?" asked Lily.

"Fine," sighed James, kissing her lightly before letting her walk to the ladies' dress robe store the opposite end of the village of the men's. Claire stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Sirius with a small peck. Then, she too, was gone. And, last, but not least, Remus kissed Tanya on the cheek before sending her off too.

"So, what colors are we looking at here?" asked Lily with a grin as they stepped into the store.

"I say that you, Lily, need something to go with your hair or eyes. I think Tanya should wear cream," said Claire.

"Claire wears white," voted Tanya. On days like these it was so easy to forget Claire's fate.

"White?" asked Claire, obviously not getting it.

"Yeah, I think it would look good on you," Lily backed up.

"Whatever you say," sighed Claire. Lily trotted over to a large rack of dress robes and a small lady came bustling over.

"Can I help you girls?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually, I need a dress to match my hair, apparently. She needs a white one to go on her flawless figure, and a creamy or a tan one for her," said Lily, pointing to her friends.

"Okay," said the woman. She bustled back to the counter and returned with three dresses in hand, all ravishingly beautiful. She handed the first to Lily, which was a reddish-orange and had a beautiful sheen to it. It was strapless and it seemed to glow. Lily grabbed it and thanked her, running into the dressing room. She then handed off a cream colored dress with bodice a rippling decorated with shimmering designs to Tanya. Claire snatched it, thanks her and rushed into the next unused dressing room. She then held one of the most beautiful dresses in the world, It was white and clung tightly at the bodice and hips. It was strapless and had a dip in the center. After the clingy part, came a flowing bottom that fanned out in every direction. Claire couldn't help but stare at it, at the complexity, at the beauty.

"Here, dear," said the lady, trying to hand the dress to Claire. Claire shook her head as if the dress would change into rags or at least become something more…ordinary, but it didn't change.

"That can't be for me," she said softly.

"I assure you, dear, this is the perfect dress for a figure and a girl of your looks, try it on, darling," pressed the woman. Claire held out her hand and the woman handed the dress to her. Claire walked to the dressing room, holding the dress as gingerly as a baby. All three emerged at the same time. Lily and Tanya took one look at Claire and practically passed out.

"You look amazing," breathed Lily. Claire blushed, adding color to her paling cheeks.

"No, seriously, you look like a goddess," said Tanya softly.

"You guys look amazing, too," said Claire, looking at her gorgeous friends. Lily's dress made her hair look like fire, a perfect combination, and, it brought out her eyes a bit too. Tanya's dress made her look so beautiful because it went perfectly with her skin. There were no other dresses that were this perfect for them, and they all knew it.

"We'll take them," said Tanya to the woman, who smiled appreciatively. They went back into the dressing rooms and changed again, back into their normal clothes. The girls ended up getting a discount due to the fact that they had brought so much business lately due to the fact that ball gowns were mandatory for the ball. When they came out with their dresses in bags, the boys were waiting for them, also holding bags. Sirius groaned as Claire walked up to him with the dress in a bag. (I repeat, dress pics are on my Freeweb, everyone, and you can get there through my profile thingy)

"Sirius, you won't be disappointed," said Lily with a mock smile.

"Yeah, it'll be worth the wait," said Tanya.

"Shut up, you guys, yours looked amazing too," said Claire, trying to get the attention away from her.

"Alright, to lunch," said James as his stomach growled.

"James, do you ever think about anything other than food?" asked Lily with a smile.

"Yes," he said triumphantly.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" asked Lily placing a hand on her hip.

"You," he said softly, placing his arm around her shoulders. Lily's spine got a chill. He was so cute when he wanted to be.

"Alright, to the Three Broomsticks then," sighed Lily. They all walked to the pub, ordered sandwiches and Butterbeer and left to go do some fun shopping. James had run into Quality Quidditch Supplies, Sirius into Zonko's, Lily, Claire, and Tanya into Honeydukes, and Remus just waited for them to finish shopping because he really didn't feel like being ensnared by their shopaholic-ness. When the day was spent and dinner was approaching, they took their carriages back to Hogwarts and went for dinner.

"Please tell me what the dress looks like," begged Sirius.

"No," said Claire playfully, not looking at him.

"Please," he begged again.

"Nuh uh," she held her ground. All of the boys had been begging all afternoon for dress descriptions, after all, hadn't they learned that no one was telling from the Halloween Ball? When they went up to the common room for the night, the begging was still going on. It was maddening. Lily wanted to say something because it would shut James up with the begging, but she couldn't, she had to remain strong.

"Why would we tell you?" asked Lily playfully.

"Because you love us," said James with his innocent little eyes. Lily looked away. She was losing her stare-down skills and she wasn't going to let James prove it. "Look at me, Lily."

"Nuh uh," she refused. "You'll see our dresses at the ball and no sooner."

"Come on, Lils," he urged.

"No," she said. It went like that the rest of dinner. The boy asked the girls about their dresses and the girls refused to say anything about them. When they went back to the common room, the boys had finally decided to give up and just wait for the ball, but they were still so curious.

"When's the next full moon," asked Claire so out of the blue.

"Not sure…Moony?" offered Sirius.

"Tonight," sighed Remus. "I had completely forgotten with all the fun we'd been having. It's almost seven. I better go. See you guys later." Tanya got to her feet and stepped gracefully over to Remus, kissing him on the cheek and whispering "Be careful," in Spanish. When Remus left, the room went dead quiet.

"Uh…Prongs, the map could come in handy," said Sirius sarcastically.

"Oh, um, yeah," James pulled out the map and saw Remus walking down to the hospital, where Pompfrey was, and then both of them going onto the grounds where Remus slipped below the Willow and Pompfrey walked back to the school.

"It's time," said Sirius thoughtfully.

"Let's go," squeaked Peter.

"I hate these nights," said Claire nervously. She placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

"I know, me too," said Lily, rubbing her friend's back.

"They'll be alright," whispered Tanya, leaning against Claire out of her own nervousness. James laid the map on the table in front of the girls and then grabbed the invisibility cloak from their dorm. When he came back down, the girls were still nervous. He went to Lily, and lifted her chin with his finger, looking into those emerald green eyes.

"Lils, we've been doing this for years now. We will be perfectly fine," he whispered. Lily threw her arms around his waist and buried her face into his shirt.

"Please be careful," she whispered. "I don't want to use any more of my Muggle medical kit ever again."

"We will. I promise," he whispered, pushing her gently off of him, and bending down to kiss her, softly, but meaningfully. It was Sirius's turn, and he went to Claire, who still had her eyes closed.

"Hey," he said, shaking her gently. She groaned and turned her face up to him, her eyes squinting shut. "Open them," he commanded. She opened one eye while the other stayed tightly shut. "Both." She opened both her eyes and looked right into those deep, gray eyes. "I'll be careful without me, those other three would've gotten themselves killed form being so stupid." James snorted. He was usually the one who intervened between Sirius and Remus. Claire nodded softly. Sirius kissed her neck once and ran his fingers along her cheek before backing away.

"Ladies," they said at the same time.

"Bye," whispered Lily sadly. Them they were gone, under the cloak. Lily looked down at the map. They were ducking out of the portrait hole already.

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A/N: wow, I am definitely going with short chapters this weekend. Sorry about that guys. Cliffy, muahahaha!


	30. Goodbyes

**A/N: sorry for the gap between updates, but it seems I have lost a few fans…how sad. Of course, all of you mean so much to me, that I am definitely keeping this open. So, thanks for the reviews everyone, and now we shall move on.**

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters or Hogwarts School or themes such as that, those are all the amazing JK Rowling's works.**

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"Wonder how it'll was tonight," thought Lily aloud. Tanya was still wide-awake, but Claire, because of her condition and her increasing fatigue, had fallen asleep about an hour ago. The clock in the common room read three in the morning, and Lily was worried. Usually they were back by now.

"They'll be okay, Lils," said Tanya softly, trying more to convince herself than Lily. Lily leaned against Tanya and closed her eyes, in thought, not sleep. She heard a loud noise, and her pillow move itself from under her face and then her head hit the couch cushion and then Claire's feet.

"Where's Remus?" came the anxious voice of Tanya. Lily opened her eyes. The boys were unscathed, and fine, but very tired looking.

"Hospital by now, probably," said James, sitting down next to Lily, who was dozing in and out of sleep. She felt James slide underneath her and him running his fingers through her hair. Heaven had returned and the natural order had been restored. She opened her eyes full now, and looked up at him. His adorable smile lit up the room, and he was perfectly unhurt for once.

"This one's all tuckered out," joked Sirius as he lifted Claire into his arms, supporting her against his chest. He sat down and laid her down so that she was leaning against his chest. Her eyelids flew open and she stared up at her angel and then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him once. "Good to see you too," laughed Sirius.

"So, how's Remus?" asked Tanya from the corner, the only one who didn't have something to celebrate.

"He's perfectly fine. We let him out of the Shack tonight…he wanted to roam so we let him hunt a bit, following and running along side him so he couldn't make a bolt for it," explained Sirius, his arm draped around Claire's shoulders.

"So, he'll be out by tomorrow?" asked Tanya hopefully.

"Definitely," assured James, speaking for the first time since Lily had actually become aware of what was around her.

"I'm so tired," Claire moaned after a few seconds.

"Come on, hun, let's get you to bed," sighed Sirius. He helped her up and told her to wrap her arms around his neck from behind. She did, and he became a dog and bolted up the stairs.

"Night," she whispered, opening the door to her room.

"Night," sighed Sirius, leaning in and kissing her softly for a split second, and then running down the stairs as a dog again. Claire stumbled awkwardly into her room and threw herself onto the bed. It was almost time, and she could feel it coming. She didn't have much time left, and it had to count.

Lily woke up the morning of the graduation ball full of life and energy. Claire stirred slightly in the bed next to hers, and Lily looked at her thoughtfully. Claire had become much paler, her hair had lost most of its shine, and she was always shivering except when Sirius was holding her. One thing that could never change, was the brightness of those eyes. She was still beautiful, but probably mere mortal in that standard than the goddess people used to see her as.

Tanya was the next to wake up. Her skin had become its beautiful and vibrant dark again due to her spending a lot of hours working on her swimming down at the lake. Her hair had become curlier somehow, and she was thinner and her body more toned.

Claire woke up then, she yawned and stretched and rolled off the edge, hitting the floor. Lily and Tanya both moved, Lily to go get the guys in case she had to be carried to the hospital, and Tanya towards the bed to help her up if need be. Claire spoke up before they could go anywhere though.

"I'm okay, guys," she said, sounding strained. Tanya held out her hand and helped her up. Claire shook her long blonde locks out, making them fall in their perfect and straight elegance to her waist. Lily shook her head. "What?" asked Claire with surprise.

"You're just so perfect," Lily sighed. Tanya nodded in agreement.

"Whatever. You guys are so pretty too. We're all the same. So, todaye we get the entire day to say goodbye to everyone, teachers, underclassmen, our friends. So, I was thinking…" she trailed off.

"Great Hall…pictures? Reminiscing?" Lily asked, reading her mind.

"Of course," she smirked.

"Sounds good to me. After we say bye to all the teachers and the little kids, we hit the Great Hall and then we sit there with the guys until around…four, and then we can get ready for the ball!" said Tanya excitedly.

"It's absurd…I love it!" joked Lily.

"Come on, let's go find the guys," said Claire, running out of the room in her nightgown. It was showy, even though her bruises had faded by now, but went to about three inches above her knees in the front, spaghetti strapped, light blue, and was very cute. She banged loudly on the boys' dormitory door and a bleary-eyed Sirius opened the door.

"Bloody hell! Claire cover yourself up before Prongs and Moony see you," he said, throwing his blanket at her. She caught it and rolled her eyes, throwing it back to him.

"Listen, after we give our goodbyes to the teachers, we want hit the Great Hall and share a few memories. You guys game?" she asked. She heard a loud snore rumble from the room and saw an eye roll from Sirius.

"Yeah, we'll meet you at breakfast. Wear something cute for me okay…I would ask you to wear that, but I'm afraid the other guys will carry you away form me," he joked. She smiled and put her hands behind her back before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him quickly and darting back to the girls' dorm.

"I love that man," she sighed when they got back in. Lily saw a tear roll down her cheek, but didn't want to bring it up because Claire had become very emotional lately. She coughed once, very loudly, and slid onto the floor, shivering.

"Claire!" Lily yelled, running to her friend's side. Claire waved a hand at her.

"I'm fine, Lily," she choked out between her chattering teeth.

"No you aren't. What's wrong?" asked Lily.

"I feel terrible," she chattered. Lily hugged her friend as she bent down next to her and rubbed her bare arms with her hands, trying to warm her up. After Tanya had joined in trying to make Claire feel better, twenty minutes later, Claire felt better.

"You gonna be okay?" asked Lily doubtfully.

"Don't tell Sirius, guys, please. He can't take it. Don't tell him," she said softly, standing up.

"We won't, we promise," whispered Tanya.

"It's soon," she said under her breath. Lily and Tanya were barely sure they had heard her. After they had changed, Claire in a jean skirt and baby-tee with Weird Sisters printed across the bust, Lily in a pair of fabric, black shorts and white baby-tee with some muggle brand name across the chest: Aero. Tanya was, as usual, wearing something spicy. She had on a tan tube top that matched her skin well, and a pair of black hip huggers. They went down to breakfast to find the boys in their usual spots. They rant o meet them, hugging them and sitting down. They ate in silence, thinking though what was happening that day. As they sat, Lily wondered why they never saw Peter anymore.

Dumbledore stood up and raised his glass, winking at Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Tanya, and Claire. He was so great sometimes, well, all the time actually.

"Today is a very happy and a very sad occasion," he said thoughtfully, his smile betraying the first emotion he mentioned. He always wore that sweet and genial smile. "Our seventh-year students are leaving us today, while the rest of us are still here for another three weeks. Today we will give our goodbyes to them as they travel around the school, saying goodbye to everyone and anyone. We will miss them dearly, and hope to see them in the near future. We wish them the best of luck and hope that their professions are promising. To the graduating class." He raised his goblet and everyone else in the room did as well, repeating his last statement before tapping their drinks together. The seventh years stayed in the great hall after everyone left, discussing what they were doing that day.

"Where to first?" asked Lily thoughtfully.

"McGonagall of course," said Sirius. "She's our head of house. She was great, we have to say bye to her first and foremost."

"Good idea, Padfoot," said Remus.

"Well, let's go," said Claire excitedly, pulling Sirius to his feet.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Sirius groaned, trying to fit one more bite in his mouth when Claire yanked him from his seat. He wrapped his arm around her waist and followed the other two couples who were holding hands. They journeyed together up to McGonagall's room where she was teaching a group of second years how to turn animals into yoyos. She stopped her lecture and gave the six of them a disapproving look. The second years looked frightened of the older students, and Sirius gave a heart laugh as he pulled out his wand and tapped the first kid's rat and it turned into a yoyo immediately. The little boy looked at Sirius in awe.

"These two boys here," said McGonagall, pointing to James and Sirius. "Were the best Transfiguration students I ever had. I couldn't have asked for better students. Too bad your younger brother never was very good with transfiguration."

"Well, you know I never really did follow family trends," shrugged Sirius.

"Very true," said McGonagall with a bitter laugh. No one liked the Blacks, but everyone liked Sirius. "So, would you two boys mind giving a demonstration to my class. I'm sure they would enjoy it." Sirius and James looked at each other smugly.

"Sure," said James with a shrug.

"Wonderful. How about…oh, human transfiguration is the most challenging thing you mastered. How about a nice little demonstration of that?" suggested McGonagall. Lily restrained a laugh at her obliviousness to the fact that they were far more advanced in Transfiguration than she probably was at their age.

"Why not," shrugged Sirius.

"Alright, kids," began James. Lily snorted and Claire was laughing by now. Tanya was doing well actually, hiding her smile with great effort. "I will be turning Padfoot here, into…what should I turn him into?" All the kids started screaming at him different animals and objects. James decided that one of the kids, who suggested a frog, was pretty cool and James cast the spell, soon, Sirius was sitting on the ground croaking and green and covered in warts. He was a frog.

"James Potter, change my boyfriend back into a human right now," shrieked Claire.

"Oh, sorry, Claire," said James, waving his wand again and Sirius returning to Sirius again.

"Bloody hell, mate, couldn't it have been a dog or something, I like dogs," suggested Sirius. Claire and Lily burst into laughter at the inside joke and Tanya snorted once. Remus, on the other hand, looked disapproving at the hint to what they were, after all, the last thing he wanted was his friends thrown into Azkaban. McGonagall cleared her throat at the use of language in her class, something she never liked much. "Sorry, Professor," she said with that innocent smirk. McGonagall rolled her eyes and looked to James.

"Alright, Padfoot, your turn to turn me into something gruesome," said James with a bitter laugh. "Let's see if you can."

"Oh, be afraid, Prongs, very afraid," said Sirius his trademark mischievous grin. All the students leaned forward eagerly and watched with interest. Sirius pulled out his wand and murmured something when James turned into a worm on the ground. A few girls squealed in disgust across the room, but Sirius, Claire, Tanya, and even Lily and Remus were laughing like crazy. Then, Lily realized that her boyfriend was, in fact, a worm, and started to get mad as Sirius wasted time before changing him back.

"Sirius Black!" Lily shrieked. "I cannot date a worm!" Sirius looked at her burning with rage and her dagger-like green eyes and then muttered the counter spell that turned James back to normal.

"Padfoot! A worm! Are you bloody serious?" asked James with disgust.

"Ha! You are the one who challenged me," joked Sirius. James rolled up his sleeves and Sirius followed suit. The class looked on in delight, McGonagall looked on in disapproval, but pride. James said a spell and Sirius was on the ground as a cockroach. Claire threw a book at him and James changed him back. Sirius then turned James into a butterfly, which he joked about it being girly and laughing hysterically until Lily yelled at him again. This went on for a bout ten more minutes, the boys changing each other into gruesome and girly things before McGonagall stepped in and told them she had to get back to teaching. They bade her farewell and moved onto another teacher.

They ended up in Slughorn's class next. Lily was the only gifted potion brewer amongst them, and Slughorn forced her into making a very complicated batch of Veritaserum, which he fed to all the students so he could find out which one had put trip spells across the floor. James and Sirius looked in pride as the boy who got caught said he wasn't sorry and had never gotten caught before. James and Sirius shook his hand and congratulated him after the class had ended.

Remus insisted they visit Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who forced he and Tanya, his best Defense students, into a duel filled with gushy and cute dialogue that you would hear in Mr. And Mrs. Smith probably.

After that, they journeyed to the grounds where they met their Care of Magical Creatures teacher who asked them to go and catch the unicorns that had escaped the paddock. Which, they did. Lily even managed to get a golden foal that the girls in the current class ogled over.

They neglected to go to History of Magic and Divination for obvious reasons. When they finished visiting, they made their way to the Great Hall with boxes of photos from their previous years. They dropped their boxes onto the table and opened them up. Sirius, James, Claire, Remus, and Tanya had mostly moving pictures, Lily only had a few of those, and so most of hers were stills, but that didn't matter much. As they sat down, a wave of emotion filled Lily as she realized she might never see this place after tonight. It was a sad feeling that coursed through them all, and as they sat down to go through the pictures, it made them even more choked up.

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**A/N: So, that was that chapter, next chapter is all memories, some extracted from the prequel, so you might recognize some of them. It should be a pretty funny chapter next time. I'm sure you are realizing that there are very few chapters left in this story. Don't worry, though, there will be a sequel!**

**Oh, and the dresses are on my site if you would please look at them! (The graduation Ball Gowns)**


	31. Memories and Promises

**A/N: Alrighty, I have over 200 reviews, how great is that! I am so happy right now it's not even funny. So…I saw the play my school was doing yesterday for the Theatre Production class, alas, I am in Theatre 1 and the play we do isn't until December. How sad. Anyways, it was the Crucible and it was so good. Very intense and the end was so sad that I cried. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing; it's JK Rowling's. Of course, the people you don't recognize are mine.**

"Remember the first time James's prank went wrong and Lily ended up being the butt of the joke. That was hilarious," laughed Sirius.

"Shut up," Lily objected.

"Sorry. Who wants to tell the story?" asked Sirius excitedly, pulling out the picture of Lily with her hair blue instead of red and so frizzy that it stuck up into the air about three inches. Her entire uniform was blue and her face even had a bluish tint. Her face showed so much anger that they were scared just looking at the picture. She couldn't have been older than fourteen. And, she was standing over a very frightened looking fourteen-year-old James, the collar of his robes clutched in her hand and her wand raised over her head.

"You're so excited about, it Padfoot, why don't you tell it?" asked James curtly.

"Fine, I will," said Sirius with a triumphant smile.

"_Aright, if we just wait then we can be sure to get Snivellus," said James excitedly. _

"_So, hold on, what happens if someone comes before him?" asked Remus warily._

"_I guess it'll go wrong, so what, who cares," shrugged Sirius._

"_I don't like it," said Remus._

"_This is going to be exciting," smiled Peter._

"_Hey, here comes someone. Get ready, boys," said James eagerly. The person turned the corner and stepped on the button, sending a cascade of blue goop all over them. All of the boys, save Remus, began laughing hysterically. _

"_Uh…guys," said Remus nervously, as the person shook off the goop, her face, hair, skin, and clothes all blue._

"_W-Wha-What, Moon-Moony?" asked Sirius through laughter._

"_I think you should run," said Remus as he saw the dagger eyes of Lily Evans and her hatred._

"_Why?" asked James, finally looking up and seeing Lily. "Oh, Merlin!" he yelled, scrambling to his feet and running down the corridor._

"_JAMES POTTER!" Lily yelled, chasing after him, causing her now blue hair to become so frazzled and messy that it stuck up in the air._

"_Dammit," James said angrily, running through the corridor and trying to get to the common room._

"_I'LL KILL YOU, JAMES!" she screeched, catching up with him and grabbing the back of his robes._

"_Calm down, Lily, it was just a joke, not even meant for you," said James, trying to beg his way out of the punishment he was about to receive. Sirius rounded the corner with a camera in hand. He snapped a quick picture of Lily about to hex James._

"I will never forget that," said Lily with a shake of her head.

"I wouldn't have either if I were you, it was pretty traumatizing, I'll bet," said Remus with a laugh.

"Ooh, Lily, look at this one," squealed Claire. She pulled a moving photo from the pile and placed it in the center of the table. It was the three girls all smiling brightly on the Hogwarts Express in their first year.

"Wow, so long ago, huh?" asked Lily with a smile.

"Yeah, no kidding," sighed Tanya.

"Wasn't that the first time James asked Lily out too?" asked Sirius with more interest than necessary. He was asking for it today. Claire hit him playfully on the arm and Sirius feigned hurt before pulling out another photo from the boys' box.

"Merlin's Beard!" shouted James, looking over Sirius's shoulder. "That was the day on Christmas last year. Remember, some kid took a picture of Lily receiving her very first detention, ha!"

"That wasn't funny. The slug smell took forever to wash out completely," objected Lily.

"McGonagall would have killed me if you had socked me in the middle of the great hall," said James with a bemused expression.

"Killed you?" asked Lily skeptically.

"Alright, well, she would've known I was asking for it," sighed James. They heard a sniffle escape Claire's nose as they saw the picture she was looking at. It was a picture of her ex, Jack, but she had not been a very good girl last year, and so, she was extremely drunk in this picture. She and Sirius had gotten into the worst fight ever then, until the others knocked some sense into them.

"Some times weren't so good," sighed Sirius. Lily was the only one who dared to speak up about what was just said, even though everyone else was thinking it.

"Yeah…"

"How long have we been here?" asked Claire, looking at her watch.

"About an hour. Why?" asked Sirius.

"We have to start getting ready," squealed Tanya with joy.

"Already?" asked Sirius, sounding upset.

"Yeah…sadly enough," sighed Claire, leaning in and kissing Sirius goodbye before leaping from the table and prancing out gracefully. Sirius had a very serene expression on his face.

"She's so perfect," Sirius sighed.

"Oh, shut up," said James jokingly, throwing a book at Sirius.

"Hey, watch it, Prongs!" called Sirius angrily.

"Boys," sighed Tanya and Lily at the same time, both getting up and saying goodbye to their beaus before leaving the great hall.

"I am so excited," Lily squealed, pulling her beautiful, strapless, auburn dress from the hanger in their closet.

"Me too," sighed Tanya, holding her cream colored dress up to her front and looking in the mirror. "I can't wait until the boys see us."

"They'll be so excited," said Claire weakly.

"Claire…what's wrong?" asked Lily worriedly.

"It's soon…possibly tonight," she whispered.

"No…it can't be, it's impossible," whispered Tanya, wrapping her arms around her best friend and hugging her tightly.

"NO! Stop it!" Claire shrieked, going into one of her fits again. Lily and Tanya were thrown off of her in seconds, but Claire was subdued in a few seconds with some hexes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, ashamed of herself.

"It's not your fault," sighed Tanya. Tanya walked to the closet, pulling out the beautiful white dress that Claire had for their ball.

"Make-up, hair, and nails first," suggested Lily.

"Agreed," said Tanya excitedly, grabbing her make-up bag and rushing to the bathroom. Lily pulled out her numerous packs of nail polish and cast a spell on them, her nails being painted by the brush itself with no one holding it. She was having them painted with French Tips. Claire grabbed her wand and began pointing it to her hair which started tying itself up into intricate styles that looked so beautiful it wasn't even funny. Tanya emerged first, decorated with earthy make-up tones and fuller lips.

"You like?" she asked hopefully.

"Very much," said Claire with a grin. Lily pointed her wand at the nail polish and it shut itself, then she pointed it to her hands, a cool breeze blowing out of the tip and drying them very quickly. "I'll take make up next," said Claire excitedly, snatching her bag of make up and running to the bathroom. Tanya grabbed the nail polish from Lily's four-poster as Lily began styling her own hair in light and beautiful ringlets that fell elegantly down her face and back. It looked so beautiful on her that Tanya felt herself going jealous.

Tanya was busy with the nail polish, paining her nails with French tips as well, and when Claire emerged, her make up in bright and vibrant silvers and her skin a bit darker than normal, they could only stare at her beauty.

"Is it that bad?" asked Claire sadly.

"No…it's amazing!" squealed Tanya and Lily at the same time.

"Thanks," said Claire quietly. She tossed the make up bag to Lily, who caught it, her hair all in little ringlets about her face and adorable as could be imagined. Claire snatched the nail polish from Tanya who began doing her hair in straight, dark brown layers that cascaded down her back perfectly, a big change from her usually curly hair, but it was still beautiful.

When Lily emerged from the bathroom, her makeup with bronzes and topaz-like colors with a few greens around her eyes for emphasis on her emerald eyes, and a bronze colored lipstick, Claire and Tanya had finished a log time ago. Lily was, of course, a perfectionist, and so, it took her longest.

"Looks great!" said Claire happily, letting out a single cough.

"Thanks," said Lily, blushing slightly. Since each girl was ready except for their dress, they decided to finish and all three put on their dresses excitedly, but being very careful not to mess up their hair. When each was ready, they looked at each other in satisfaction, and only then did it sink in.

"Oh no, guys!" they said at once, running together and hugging, all of them waving their hands in their faces to stop themselves from crying.

"We might not see each other again," sobbed Lily.

"Shut up, Lils, of course we will," Claire comforted.

"What if we don't?" asked Tanya, trying not to cry.

"We'll just have to make sure we do, okay?" asked Claire, clapping her friends on the back with her hands.

"How do we make sure? How can we promise?" asked Lily, fanning her eyes.

"I've got it! How about we go back to first year and do our old-fashioned friendship promise. Anyone remember the spell?" asked Claire interestedly.

"_But how can we be sure that we'll always be friends?" asked the eleven-year-old Lily curiously._

"_One time, my sister, she made up this spell that would make a binding promise, and it would remind you every so often, as specified in the spell, what you were supposed to be doing. Maybe we should do that," suggested the young Tanya._

"_It could work," said Claire excitedly. _

"_So, in thirty years, it will remind us that we are supposed to still be friends, right?" asked Lily excitedly._

"_Yeah," began Tanya. "Alright, here's the spell: I make a promise, I seal my heart, I blow a kiss, now here's the start. If I forget, tell me true, tell me so I may be with you. You and I were friends, through thick and through thin, if you don't remind me, I'll commit a deadly sin. So remind me in thirty years that I should still know you, so ask me if we are still friends true."_

"_Is that it?" asked Lily._

"_Yeah, that's it," said Tanya excitedly. _

"_Is something supposed to happen?" asked Claire with a bored expression._

"_Wait for it," breathed Tanya, holding her wand up in the air. The other two girls imitated her movement. Suddenly, a bright ball of light appeared in the center of their circle and split into thirds, changing into spheres themselves. One sphere went straight into Tanya's mouth, then the next went into Lily's, and the final went into Claire's._

"_That's it," said Tanya in a satisfied tone._

"_Weird," breathed Claire._

"I remember the words," said Tanya excitedly.I make a promise, I seal my heart, I blow a kiss, now here's the start. If I forget, tell me true, tell me so I may be with you. You and I are friends, through thick and through thin, if you don't remind me, I'll commit a deadly sin. So tell me once a week to go to the owl on my windowsill, to tie a letter to her leg and send him out the window fast. Remind me every two weeks at least, that there's a Quidditch game with Claire, a poker night with Tanya, and a clubbing night with Lily."

"Ready guys?" asked Lily, when Tanya finished reciting. All thre girls held their wands in the air and a huge ball of light appeared in front of them, splitting into three spheres, each sphere entered into a girl through their heart this time, phasing right through their skin.

"How come it didn't go through our moutsh like ti always used to?" asked Claire worriedly.

"That was a spell straight form our hearts. I think it was telling us that we are never going to forget this promise. That, until one of us dies, it will hold true," said Lily with a deep breath.

"Are you guys ready?" asked Claire, taking a deep breath also.

"Yeah, the ball'll start any minute," sighed Tanya.

"Let's go," whispered Lily excitedly.

**A/N: So, tell me what you thought, are you excited about the ball, it's coming and coming fast. You know what to do, so I won't bother saying it. Hope you had a good Friday the 13th too. Ta, ta!**


	32. Surprises: Good and Bad

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys, wow, this story is almost over and done and the sequel is going to come out soon, are you excited? Well, here's the ball, or most of it, or all of it, I don't know, I just write what comes to mind. Anyways, here goes nothing.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, JK Rowling's, not mine, except the people you don't recognize.**

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It was almost like a royal ball, wait, take that back, it was exactly like a royal ball. Flitwick had enchanted the staircase to have wings where each gentleman would wait for the lady and then escort her down into the great hall. It was difficult to get the hang of, but this was the gist of it. McGonagall would call the name of the girl and then who she was escorted by and then she would walk down the stairs as ladylike as possible, meet her date and they would enter the hall together. Of course, since Lily and James, Tanya and Remus, and Claire and Sirius were the ones who were supposed to enter last during the commemoration and thank you speech from Dumbledore about the decorations, they were all in the back of the line.

Claire, Lily, and Tanya went towards the big staircase on the way to the great hall and stopped, seeing the huge line of seventh year girls and the professor calling their names in alphabetical order. Soon, every girl was gone and then Lily's name was called and she took a deep breath and walked down the steps as gracefully as she possibly could. James saw her and his jaw dropped, the way her hair complimented her dress and the beauty of her just sent him into wonderment. Lily noticed and grabbed James's hand as they proceeded down the stairs to wait at the bottom for the others. As soon as they were away from the crowd, Lily shook James a little bit. He was wearing a tux, a really nice one too. Lily had to admit that he looked hotter than usual, and she had no problem with that. After shaking him and he returned to his sense, he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"You look so beautiful," he said softly. Lily felt her face grow hot as she blushed and James kissed her cheek stroked her cheek with his free hand.

"Tanya Bolanos escorted by Remus Lupin," called McGonagall's voice. Lily and James snapped back into the real world and watched Tanya, in her cream-colored dress, descend the stairs as Remus watched her in awe as well. He took her hand gingerly and led her down the stairs where Lily and James were.

"Tanya, you look amazing," said Remus softly.

"Thanks," she said with a hint of her accent poking in like it always did when she got shy. Everyone turned to wait for Claire, especially Sirius, who was wearing a beautiful tux with a silver tie and a silver vest. He looked nervous and worried, whether about how he looked, Claire looked, her health, or whatever, no one knew.

"Claire Martin escorted by Sirius Black." Claire stepped around the corner in her strappy heels and Sirius turned around to see her ducking out from behind the wall, a shy and uncertain expression on her face, something neither Lily nor Tanya had ever seen before. Sirius saw her dress and his eyes grew wide, his jaw dropped and he looked like he was going to cry, not because she was so beautiful, but because he knew she was going to die soon and that beauty could never be in his arms again. She was playing idly with her fingers, trying not to make eye contact with anyone as she got down the stairs and Sirius recovered, taking her arm and walking her down the steps.

"You are more beautiful than any angel, and when you get to heaven, they'll be so jealous," he whispered softly, causing her to blush and a small tear to roll down her cheek. Sirius noticed and flipped the tear off her face before wrapping his arm around her waist and taking her to the bottom of the stairs. Professor McGonagall bustled over to them hurriedly and looked at the couples.

"I never thought that you six would ever be this way. It's something that makes me proud to be your teacher because you realized how stubborn you were being and took the time to realize what was wrong with the picture. Thank you for doing that. I never thought I'd see three of the most mismatched pairs in the world go through the school at the same time. Congratulations you six, and have fun in the real world. Though, Dumbledore has told me to warn you of a growing Dark presence," she said, her voice going much lower. "It will soon overtake us if we do not have a resistance. Now, Dumbledore has one started, and, because you were six of his best ever pupils, he would like to extend an invitation to join to you. He thinks you would be ever valuable. You would all be able to work your day jobs, but think of this as an…extracurricular activity, only one with far more importance than Quidditch. Well?"

"I'm in," said James and Sirius at the same time, Tanya and Claire snorted a laugh while Lily only rolled her eyes at them. Remus just shook his head thoughtfully.

"I will," said Claire strongly. Sirius turned away from her, knowing she would never be able to do something dangerous even if she lived for another month or two.

"Most definitely," said Remus.

"Would I miss out?" asked Tanya with a grin. Everyone looked to Lily, who still hadn't answered.

"What? Did you actually think I wouldn't?" she said jokingly. "Yes, of course professor."

"Oh, wonderful, Dumbledore will be so happy. Now then, present matters, now. Lily, you and James in the front as Head Boy and Girl, and then Sirius and Claire behind her and next to Sirius and Claire I want Tanya and Remus. It should be a triangular shape, yes? Good, now go ahead." Lily took a deep breath and felt James's arm wind around her wais in a comforting gesture.

"Now announcing the pupils who organized this event for you, Lily Evans and James Potter, Claire Martin and Sirius Black, and Tanya Bolanos and Remus Lupin," came the headmaster's voice. They took deep breaths and entered the great hall, which was decorated absolutely amazingly beautiful as the students formed a path up the center towards the podium where Dumbledore was standing. "Now, I would like to turn the attention to our Head Boy and Girl, Lily and James, would you pleas come up here and read your speeches?"

"Speeches?" asked Lily in a worried tone.

"Yeah, seriously, we weren't told to write speeches, professor," said James with an eyebrow raised.

"Wing it," said Dumbledore genially, stepping down from the podium and motioning for them to get up onto the stage and in front of the podium. Lily went up, James following, his hand pressed against her waist, her holding it there for comfort. She got to the podium and saw the face staring up at her and was filled with inspiration. James was standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist comfortingly.

"Okay, wow," she said after magnifying her voice. "I can't believe I met you guys seven years ago, huh? So, when I came here I made enemies," she turned to look at James, "And a lot of friends. Over time, my list of enemies decreased and my list of friends got longer. Now, I would have to say that most everyone in this room doesn't have a problem with me, but I might be wrong. There are a lot of people here who hate me, but you know what, I don't care. I love this place, and I am sad to be going, but so excited to be starting something newer, different. As some of you know, I am going into healer training at the end of the summer to become a poison specialist at St. Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies and Injuries. Oh wait, only Sirius and James knew that," she said, winking at Sirius. Claire's eyes grew wide as soon as she said poison specialist, and it was in appreciation. Claire didn't want another person suffering like she had suffered. "And now, here I stand at the end of my days here and I have to say, wow. The best memories I could ever have are right here, in this school. I made friends here, I learned a lot here and I suffered for my own betterment here. Nothing could be better than that. Best of all though, I fell in love here. I don't know if anyone else has, but I did, and I hope you all get that chance." She stepped away, applause echoing through the room. She was about to walk away when James grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him, amplifying his voice.

"Now, guys, raise your hand if you thought I'd ever get Lily," he called out, only about twelve people in the room raised their hands. Claire, Tanya, and Remus among them, but even Sirius thought it'd never happen. "Alright, well, I never thought so either. Sadly enough, at first I only wanted her because I thought I could never have her. Anyways, I'm supposed to be making a speech here, thank you for that poll, it was very kind of you. So, I came here thinking I would rule the school, wrong! I had detention at least once a week for the first five years I was here, I cleaned up my act in sixth year in hope of getting Head Boy so I could get closer to Lily here. Wow, I am horrible at staying on topic. Anyways, I have a ton of enemies here, as every Gryffindor would. I'm sure the Slytherins hate me too, but who cares, as Lily so nicely put it. Now, I know a lot of you are going to go out into the world and do something incredibly cool, but how many here want to be a healer like Lily?" Only about three people raised their hands. "An auror?" About twenty-five raised hands. "Something else?" the rest of the room raised their hands. "Alrighty then, now, I guess since we are all going different routes there are probably a lot of you I won't see ever again, and so I want you to go up to the people you hate, right now, and say you are sorry for something you may have done."

Lily and James watched as people began turning to each other and apologizing for things they had done, and a lot of hugging was going on.

"Lily," whispered James.

"Yeah?" asked Lily, turning back to him.

"I'm sorry for stalking you from first year on through sixth."

"I'm sorry for not giving you a chance," she whispered back. Lily ran back to the podium and amplified her voice.

"All right, this is a dance, now let's get this started, guys!" she yelled. A crack of thunder and the band appeared behind her on the stage.

"Well, hello, Hogwarts!" called the person in front. "Congratulations on your achievements, and welcome to the real world, but before you move on, let's have some fun." There was a lot of yelling and screaming as the band started to ply and James and Lily got off the stage and ran over to their friends.

"Great speech, mate," said Sirius, slapping James on the shoulder. Then, Sirius looked to Claire. "Wanna dance, love?" Claire coughed, a lot, but kept a smile on her face as she nodded her assent. Sirius grabbed her hand and gave a worried glance back to Lily, who just shrugged, and they tried to get a feel for the music. This band played everything, and right now, hip-hop was what was playing. Sirius stepped up to Claire, whom had one of her hands on Sirius's shoulders, and Lily and James watched in horror as those two were grinding on each other; that was something they expected form Sirius, not so much Claire, but Claire was a very unpredictable person, and they wondered where she learned how to do that (assuming that existed back then). Tanya was laughing and Remus was rubbing his temples. Lily rolled her eyes and James had an appreciative smile plastered to his lips.

Just then, a blonde boy from Slytherin house who they had never met, but had seen in some classes came over and tried to sandwich Claire. Sirius, on the other hand, was not a happy person. A fist flew and connected with the Slytherin boy's jaw and sent him falling to the ground. James was about to jump into the fray when the Slytherin ran off like the wimp he was.

"Now, back to dancing," said Sirius with a grin.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," she said, kissing him on the cheek. The next thing they saw was Claire running with her stiletto heels raised above her head, chasing the Slytherin boy as though she wanted to kill him, which she probably did. She threw a shoe that hit him in the head and knocked him out. McGonagall was over there pretty fast though.

"Miss Martin, what has gotten into you?" asked McGonagall worriedly.

"He was compromising my honor and I had to do something about it," said Claire, glaring at the boy on the floor at her feet.

"Compromising your honor? Even after the way I saw you dancing with Mr. Black?" Claire blushed furiously. "Well, seeing as there is no more school, I cannot give you a detention or anything of that sort. I guess you will have to settle this on your own."

"Gladly," smirked Claire, looked down at the boy with a devilish grin. She walked over to the bowl of punch on the table and picked it up, Sirius watching in amusement from the corner. James was laughing his butt of, Lily, as usual, was rolling her eyes, Tanya was looking anxious, and Remus was pretending not to know them.

Claire carried the bowl of punch over to the boy, noticing his expensive white suit, she overturned the punchbowl, letting it splatter all over his dress robes. He yelled a profane word at her as she walked back to Sirius, who raised an eyebrow before walking with her back to the dance floor. Tanya and Remus had somehow gotten into a fight in the last few minutes and they were sitting on opposite ends of the room.

The music had slowed by now, and James and Lily were in the center of the dance floor, everyone watching them eagerly. Sirius pulled Claire to the gap too, and began dancing with her. Claire looked up at him with a tear stricken face. Sirius wiped the tears from her face with another worried glance.

"What's wrong?" he asked hopelessly.

"It's…soon," she choked out.

"No, not soon," said Sirius, shaking his head angrily.

"It's…tonight," she whispered.

"Tonight? How come you didn't say anything before?" asked Sirius with rage burning into his eyes.

"I just realized it when we were getting dressed today, for the ball. I'm so sorry," she choked out, her tears rolling down her face without end. She wrapped her arms around his neck as tightly as she could, looking for some comfort in his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her too, and neither of them noticed that everyone had stopped dancing, that everyone went quiet and was watching them sadly. Lily's tears were pouring from her eyes, and she buried her face in James's shoulder. Tanya and Remus were nearby, apparently having gotten over their little spat and both were watching with sad faces.

"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry about," he whispered, taking a strand of her curling hair and placing it behind her ear. When he drew his hand away, she held his palm to her face and breathed in his scent, loving one of the last moments she would cherish with him. She closed her eyes slowly, looking down. She was surprised to feel a pair of soft lips touch hers and then her eyes flew open and she wrapped her arms around Sirius's neck deepening the kiss. When they finally pulled away form each other, Sirius still looked incredibly sad.

"I want my last night…to be happy," she whispered. "Please don't ruin that for me." Sirius cleared his thoughts and thought only of how much fun he had been having a second ago. Then, the music rushed back into his mind and the people around him were there again, but the most beautiful person in his mind was Claire, and now was his last time to spend with her. He was going to have fun. He smiled at her and lifter her up, letting her place her hands on his shoulders.

"I love you!" he yelled so that everyone could hear him.

"I love you, Sirius Black!" she screamed even louder. He let her down and she landed gracefully (something that didn't happen often). "Let's have some fun."

"Agreed, love," said Sirius happily, pulling her through the crowd to the tables. He tapped a plate with his wand, causing a ton of food to appear on it. "Hungry?"

"Famished," she sighed, sitting down. Sirius grabbed the seat next to her, conjuring up more food. She ate noisily and then, they were up at the dance floor again.

Lily and James were slow dancing again, thinking they were the only people in the world and everyone had parted to watch them dance. Tanya and Remus had been talking sadly for a long time, finally agreeing on friends being the best thing for them.

"Hey, Lils…" began James nervously.

"Yeah James?" asked Lily, wondering why he was acting that way.

"My parents…they're moving to a new house and as soon as tonight, I inherit the house my parents were living in, the one you saw. I was wondering if maybe…you wanted to come and live with me?"

"I couldn't think of a better way to live," said Lily happily, jumping on her tiptoes and planting a sloppy smooch on James's lips.

"Love ya," said James after she went back down on her feet.

"I know," she said with a smile. "I love you too."

* * *

**A/N: Oh no, cliffhanger, and what's up with Tanya and Remus? Well, at least Lily ad James will be living together soon. Reviews please because I need something to brighten my day a bit.**


	33. Leaving It All Behind

**A/N: Ah, sorry about the not updating bug that has been going through my system, haha, I suck at metaphors. Anyways, this is the LAST chapter in the story! Of course there will be a sequel, but I am not releasing it for a little while, so you'll have to wait.**

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling, you are a genius, such a genius that I could never create something as marvelous as Harry Potter or Sirius, or Hogwarts, or James, or Remus or anyone else in the HP books. So, not mine.**

It was almost midnight and the ball was almost over. Claire was sitting at a table with Sirius, not even hungry. Lily and James were…in the dormitories doing goodness only knows what. Remus and Tanya were yelling at each other from across the room, and everyone else, professors included, was dancing. Lily and James came down a few moments later, James's hair messier than usual and his tie slightly askew.

"Mate, tie," said Sirius, holding in his laughter.

"Oh, thanks," said James, fixing his tie.

"Lils," called Claire. Lily rushed over and sat next to her best friend after admiring how stunning she looked yet again.

"Yeah?" asked Lily.

"Soon," whispered Claire, too quiet for Sirius to hear.

"Okay," said Lily, biting back the tears that were threatening to appear.

"Sirius, let's go dance," said Claire softly, standing up. Sirius caught the shaky and nervous note in her voice, but took her hand and led her to the dance floor anyway. A slow song was playing, the tune floating across the room like a dream. Sirius and Claire were very close.

"I have to tell you something," she said quietly.

"Okay," Sirius answered warily.

"When I went home last summer and my father found out about the problem I had with drinking, he tried to get me to give the rest to him. When I said no, he was so drunk that he tried to strangle me and it left bruises on my neck. It's the scariest memory I have. All I remember is him holding me up off the ground and trying to choke me. When I realized he wasn't going to let me down without a fight, I began to fight back, clawing at his hands and arms. When he dropped me to the ground, I grabbed all of my things and loaded it onto my broom and flew to London where I was given a free room at the Leaky Cauldron because my mother had always been friends with the innkeeper there. I haven't been home since then."

"Claire, you father is too terrible. Anything I can do to bring him to justice I will do," Sirius vowed.

"No, I don't want my parents in jail. You need to promise me not to tell anyone, please," she breathed.

"Claire…. I promise."

"I'll miss you," Claire whispered, tears beginning to crawl down her paling cheeks.

"Not yet," Sirius said angrily, shaking her, but not too hard. She only looked away from him, tears falling onto the ballroom floor. "Look at me," he urged her. She didn't move, and Sirius felt her go limp in his hands. He supported all of her weight as he lowered her to the ground, her eyes wide in a state of shock, her mouth open as though she were screaming. She was going into one of her fits. An earsplitting scream echoed through the ballroom as Claire's shocked eyes changed to a mass of pure fear. She rose form the ground as though someone was holding her, but no one was. She clasped around her throat at a pair of invisible hands that were choking her to death and then she screamed again. Her face changed from fear to anger and then to rage as she scratched at the invisible hands. Sirius went for her, pulled her from the air and held her tightly against his chest. He felt her go up on her tiptoes and he loosened his grip as she kissed him for last time, passionately on the lips and then went limp, her eyes and mouth closed, a peaceful and serene expression on her face.

Sirius lifted her into his arms like he would a baby and carried her towards the hospital wing. Madam Pompfrey was bustling along behind him and telling him to hurry. Everyone, Lily, James, Remus, and Tanya were crying as they followed, but Sirius didn't notice them because he was only concerned with Claire. He kicked open the doors to the ward and laid her on one of the beds. Madam Pompfrey placed her hand over Claire's heart, a sad expression crossing her face.

"NO!" Sirius screamed, picking up a vase and throwing it at the nearest wall, letting it shatter.

"Sirius…" James said, trying to calm his friend.

"Shut up!" Sirius yelled, storming from the hospital wing. Tanya and Lily were hugging as they both fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably and James and Remus were even crying, James with one hand pressed up against the wall, supporting him, and Remus trying to comfort the girls, but to no avail.

"Someone needs to find Mr. Black," said Dumbledore, striding in unnoticed, even he looked very sad.

"I'll go," sighed James, knowing where his friend would probably go. James walked form the hospital wing unwillingly and found his way to the common room. He looked about, and, making sure no one was around, he changed into a stag and trotted up the girls' dormitory stairs. He used his antlers to turn the knob and changed back into himself upon entering the room. Sirius was lying, a big black dog, on Claire's bed, whining uncontrollably. All of Claire's things were strewn about the floor and her bed. When Sirius saw James, he turned back into a human, tears falling down his face.

"Why her?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know," said James quietly, walking over to sit next to his friend.

"I had never been in love before. It was like a thousand times worse than getting halfway through a slice of cake and having them take it away from you."

"I know. Do you want to go back downstairs? Dumbledore wants to see you," said James, getting up slowly.

"Yeah, sure," said Sirius, standing up and walking past James out of the room. They walked back to the hospital wing in silence, no one daring to talk for fear of bringing up something they didn't want to discuss. Sirius opened the door and walked in to see all the professors around the bed Claire was in. She was not there now. "What did you do with her?" Sirius accused them immediately.

"She's in another ward for now, but please, stay here, we need to talk with you all," said McGonagall. Sirius's face turned hard and angry, but he did what she said and sat down next to Lily and Tanya. Remus was standing behind them and James was still at the door. "Potter, get in here," McGonagall urged. James did and came to stand behind Lily, stroking her hair comfortingly. She curled her fingers around his wrist and it helped her feel better.

"I want to know what you know about the memory Claire had to relive at the ball tonight," said Dumbledore quietly, but sadly. Everyone, even Lily, James, Remus, and Tanya, turned to look at Sirius.

"I can't tell you," he said quietly, not looking at them at all.

"You must. If it will bring someone who tried to kill her to justice, tell us."

"I made a promise," Sirius said, tears rolling down his cheek as he still refused to look at the teachers.

"Sirius, we need to know. It was clear that the last memory was when someone tried to kill Claire. We aren't dumb, we have seen bruises on her legs and arms when she forgets to cover them, and we have once seen bruises around her neckline. Someone beats Claire, and we know it is none of you, but we are sure you know. Who has been hurting her?"

"I made a promise," Sirius repeated.

"Sirius, just tell them," Lily whispered.

"I can't," said Sirius firmly.

"Very well then," sighed Dumbledore. "It would have meant Azkaban for whoever did it though."

"That's why I can't tell you. If you would let me take care of this monster on y own, perhaps with the help of my friends, I could tell you. If you go after him, I will have betrayed her," said Sirius softly.

"You want to go after him and go after him you may do. Go, by all means, destroy him, but we need a record of who it was," said McGonagall.

"It was Claire's father," sighed Sirius.

"I expected as much," said Dumbledore, shaking his head. "Such a talented and beautiful girl. Who tries to murder someone like her?"

"It's a cruel world we live in, professor," said Sirius harshly.

"But there are some who make it a good place to live, don't you think, Sirius?" asked the Professor kindly.

"Depends on who and where," said Sirius angrily.

"Well, James and Remus for instance. Lily and Tanya too. You are going to need to help each other, and I think it would be best if you all went ahead up to your dormitories and get some rest for the ceremony tomorrow."

"Ceremony?" sniffled Lily.

"For Claire, dear," said McGonagall, bending down to help the two girls off the floor.

"Could we…" began James.

"Go ahead and say goodbye to her, she is in the ward across the room," said Madam Pompfrey. Everyone nodded and proceeded to the curtained area. Claire laid there, the same peaceful expression on her face, a smile creasing her lips slightly. Her hair was shining as it always had been before she had died, and the color was almost returning to her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Sirius whispered, stroking the back of her hand.

"Come on now, dears, best not dally," said Madam Pompfrey, escorting them back to the main area.

"Professor?" asked Sirius sadly, looking at the floor.

"Yes, Sirius?" asked Dumbledore.

"Could you bury Claire in the dress she has on? It's probably one of the nicest things she owns, and I want my last view of her to be what she will be like forever. Could you do that?"

"Of course, Sirius."

"Thanks," sighed Sirius. After a few last words between teachers and students, the teenages went up to their common room. No one wanted to go to sleep, no one wanted to forget, to wake up and think it was all a dream and then to look to Claire's bed and see all of her stuff packed by the house elves. So, they all just sat. There was nothing else to do but sit. Lily spent the night curled up in James's arms, her face against his chest as she continued to cry uncontrollably. Sirius sat in the corner and stared at the fire, sometimes getting up to try and comfort the girls. Tanya was curled up on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and Remus sat next to her, them obviously forgetting their little spat and remembering how close friends they would always be. He kept his arm draped around her shoulders and would rub her back when she would start crying again.

This went on the entire night. No one fell asleep, there was too much going through their heads. There was too much to realize. The school year ended tomorrow as soon as the ceremony was over, and they would never see nything of Claire again but photos. Lily would go to see her mother and father and then leave to live with James. Tanya would buy her own house and so would Remus. Sirius would probably get his own house too. They would all start working and become great at everything they did, but there would never be another Clara Shay Martin in their lives. They would never see her flying again and never see her blush or scream because she was so outgoing. They would never see her compete in eating contests with Sirius again either. Sirius…what was going on in his head right now?

_The Next Morning_

The loud call from the younger kids came down the stairs as they rushed in to say goodbye to the seventh years for the last time. Claire's funeral was a private one, and only Sirius, Remus, Lily, Tanya, and James were invited to it besides heer family and teachers. It was going to be down on the Quidditch Pitch, Claire's favorite place in the entire world. Her casket was white and black marble with silver trim. All of her favorite things were to be buried with her, except her broom. Her will said that her broom went to Sirius. No one knew when she had made this will, but it was probably as soon as she found out she was dying.

No one spoke during the ceremony. Dumbledore said a few things at the end, but no one, especially not Sirius paid any attention. It was like a horrible nightmare and he was trying to wake himself up. It was like a babbling of sounds in a loud hallway and he just wanted them to all shut up. As soon as the ceremony was over, the coffin vanished. Sirius had asked that they send her body to Godric's Hollow to be buried near Lily and James's house. Dumbledore agreed. The seventh years loaded into the carriages and left for the station where they loaded into the train. It was eerie, very eerie. It felt like no one was able to speak because no one did speak. James and Lily and Sirius left together, and Tanya and Remus parted ways with them. They knew they would all see each other soon, as soon as life was given some meaning once again, but it was scary. They didn't know how long it would take. All they knew was that they wanted Claire back.

_The End_

**A/N: YES! That's the end of this one, the sequel is on it's way…in a week or two. It's a sad ending, I know, but don't cry forever because the next story is more Lily and James and less of the others. I know you loved Sirius and Claire as a couple to death and all, but you should definitely get over it because I will make it all better in the next one!**


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